Complete free recipe

Turkey and Vegetable Pasta

Turkey mince and finely chopped vegetables simmered into a light tomato sauce over pasta. Leaner than a beef ragu and quicker.

Turkey and Vegetable Pasta. Turkey mince and finely chopped vegetables simmered into a light tomato sauce over pasta. Leaner than a beef ragu and quicker.
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Prep 15 minCook 35 minServes 4

Ingredients

Why metric?

Metric avoids regional spoon ambiguity. US uses 5 mL tsp, 15 mL tbsp and 240 mL cup. Small masses stay in grams unless a verified recipe conversion exists. More on measurements

  • 450 g turkey mince
  • 300 g pasta (dry)
  • 150 g carrot, finely chopped
  • 200 g zucchini, finely chopped
  • 2 celery sticks, finely chopped (100 g)
  • 400 g tomato passata
  • 150 ml reduced-salt stock (150 g)
  • 25 ml extra-virgin olive oil (23 g)
  • 3 g smoked paprika
  • 2 g dried oregano
  • 55 g parmesan, finely grated
  • 2 g iodised table salt
  • Ground black pepper, to taste

Method

  1. Warm the oil in a wide pan over high heat and brown the turkey, breaking it up with a wooden spoon until the grains are fine and no pink is left, about 6 minutes. Poultry mince sets into lumps if you leave it alone, so keep working it.
  2. Add the carrot, zucchini and celery and cook 8 minutes over medium heat until softened.
  3. Add the passata, stock, paprika, oregano and salt and simmer 15 minutes uncovered, until it has thickened enough to sit on a spoon rather than run off it.
  4. Cook the pasta in plenty of water for a minute less than the packet says, then drain, keeping a cup of the water.
  5. Fold the pasta through the sauce with a splash of the cooking water so it coats rather than sits in it. Serve with the parmesan and pepper.

Serve

Tomato is a commonly reported trigger and it is also the backbone of this sauce. If it is one of yours, use 300 ml of stock instead of the passata and reduce it harder, then stir a couple of spoonfuls of ricotta in at the end.

Safety and storage

Cook to
74°C / 165°F in the centre (poultry, including minced poultry)
Keeps
2 days refrigerated below 5°C
Reheat to
steaming hot, at least 60°C

The table gives poultry cuts as 74°C. Minced poultry is taken to the same temperature rather than the 71°C mince figure, because mincing spreads surface bacteria through the whole mass. Colour and clear juices are not a reliable test. Check the thickest part with a thermometer.

Cooked rice and pasta keep two days rather than three, so this dish takes the shorter time. Cool and cover within two hours, split large amounts into shallow containers, and reheat until steaming hot, at least 60°C.

Where these temperatures come from