Bam!

Last night I made a version of bolognese sauce that is meant to be a little lighter than the traditional kind in that it uses ground turkey and turkey bacon instead of beef and pancetta. The recipe comes courtesy of Emeril Lagasse and was really fun to make—what can I say, I like recipes that require you to keep adding stuff to a pot and waiting for each to become incorporated.

I thought it was delicious, but my family was less enthusiastic. Andy wanted more flavor (like, from beef and pancetta...), and the kids were a little weirded out by all the extraneous "stuff" (read: vegetables). I still think it's a terrific recipe, though, and perhaps we could tinker with it to get more flavor out of it. For instance, maybe keeping the ground turkey but using pancetta instead of the turkey bacon? Anyhow, here it is:

Turkey Bolognese

8 oz. turkey bacon, finely chopped

1 large onion, finely chopped

3 carrots, finely chopped

2 celery stalks, finely chopped

2 pounds lean ground turkey

¾ cup dry white wine

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste

2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth

½ cup half-and-half

¼ cup chopped parsley

In a 5-quart Dutch oven or heavy pot, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp, 10–12 minutes. (My turkey bacon was so lean that I needed to add a little olive oil to prevent it from burning.) Add onion, carrots, and celery; season with coarse salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender, 8–10 minutes.

Add turkey; cook, breaking up meat with a spoon, until no longer pink, 8–9 minutes. Add wine and garlic; cook until wine has almost evaporated, 10–15 minutes. Add tomato paste; cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, 7–10 minutes.

Add broth and half-and-half; bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to a simmer, and cook until sauce is thick and creamy, about 30 minutes more. Stir in the parsley. (The recipe doesn't say when to add the parsley, so I consulted my cooking pals on Twitter, and they all agreed that it should go in at the very end.) Serve over pasta.

Comments

[Janeen]

I would think some dried oregano and/or basil would add some flavor. Also, a pinch of cayenne would make me happy if I were eating it.

[jo]

We made a mushroom ragu for the vegetarians in our Italian series. The bang of 'meaty' flavour came from dried porcini. Soaked and added. We also used the strained soaking liquid. If the kids won't eat the shrooms, perhaps reduced porcini liquid would give you that bang.