Thursday, June 28, 2007

Save this one for after Thanksgiving
--Turkey Bolognese


Turkey Bolognese
Giada’s Family Dinners Copyright 2006

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 onions, chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and finely chopped
1 ½ pounds coarsely shredded cooked turkey (preferably dark meat)
6 cups marinara sauce she suggest her recipe but I used jarred Bertolli Organic
1 cup water
2/3 cup chopped fresh basil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 ½ pounds spaghetti
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Heat the oil in a large, heavy pot over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and sauté until translucent, about 8 minutes. Add the celery and carrot, and sauté until the vegetables are tender, about 8 minutes. Add the turkey and sauté 1 minute. Add the marinara sauce and water. Bring the sauce to a simmer over medium-high heat, then decrease the heat to medium-low and simmer gently for 25 minutes, stirring often, to all the flavors to blend. Stir in the basil. Season the sauce generously to taste with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile in a very large pot of boiling salted water, cook the spaghetti, stirring often to prevent the pasta from sticking together, until tender but still firm to the bite, about 8 minutes, Drain, reserving one cup of the cooking liquid. Add the pasta to the sauce and toss to coat, add enough of the reserved liquid to moisten as needed. Serve with the Parmesan.
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I had three turkey legs in the freezer that wouldn't have made much of a meal on their own but they were perfect for this recipe. I cut it in half. I wasn't exact about it but I doubt Giada is very exact when she cooks for her own family either.

I cooked the turkey legs in the crockpot for a few hours on high and then I removed the meat and went from there. I loved this. I think poultry goes so well with an Italian seasoned tomato sauce (I love chicken cacciatore). My son scarfed this down too, always a plus.

I love Giada's cookbooks. I don't have Everyday Pasta yet but I'm sure I'll get my hands on it someday. I've run out of room for cookbooks again so I've been trying not to buy any. Oh, and they have the road in front of the library closed, making it quite tricky to get into the library. I need to get over there to take the edge off!

Don't forget, only a few more days to get in on this month's cookbook giveaway. You might be the lucky winner.

Blast From The Past: Baked Buffalo Chicken Wings from February 2006. These were really good, especially the blue cheese sauce.

Question of the Day: Do you visit a library regularly?

5 comments:

Red Dirt Mummy said...

Mmmm... looks good, Paula.

We do visit the library regularly. Thursday morning is children's story-time at our library and Offspring #2 and I love it. I brought home a particularly good haul of books this morning.

Anonymous said...

yes..I visit the library regularly..my computer is dead and I use theirs to keep up with my blogs..
That looks really good, by the way. YUM. I got some turkey breast on sale at the grocery the other day (abotu 2 lbs for 99 cents, how cool is THAT) and it looks like a perfect way to use it.

Jennifer said...

I visity the University library on a regular basis. I rarely go to my local library anymore (even though it's right up the street) because I can get what ever I want through inter-library loan.

I would encourage everyone to check to see if their library participates in an inter-library loan program. It means you can get stuff from libraries from all over not just your local. I love it!

This looks really good! I don't have any Turkey but I think it would work just as well with some chicken. I've got a whole chicken in the freezer just wanting to be cooked.

ThursdayNext said...

I love making bolognese - this looks like a great version! I do visit my library regularly, but I have a habit of buying too many books in the bargain section of Barnes and Noble, too!

Anonymous said...

I visit libraries in spurts. When I do get in a reading frenzy, I neglect too many other things. For a long time now, however, I haven't had time to indulge. Wish I did.

Jan