Try this Bikini Bolognese recipe, or contribute your own.
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup chicken broth
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 lb ground turkey
- shaved parmesan cheese for garnish
- 2 medium cloves of garlic minced
- 2-2.5 large zucchinis blade c
- 1/2 medium red onion chopped (a little more than 1/3 of a cup)
- 1/2 of 1 celery stalk diced
- 1/2 whole carrot diced
- 1 tsp red hot pepper flakes (or more if you like it spi
- 1 14 oz can of crushed tomatoes (san marzano is t
- 3/4 tbsp tomato paste (about 3 tsp)
- 1/3 cup chopped basil
- 1 tbsp oregano flakes
- Carbohydrate 5.44661666916568 g
- Cholesterol 188.708760125 mg
- Fat 29.9798621140559 g
- Fiber 1.72656666306484 g
- Protein 54.0642647382246 g
- Saturated Fat 8.21297587903913 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (324g)
- Sodium 237.647451209631 mg
- Sugar 3.72005000610084 g
- Trans Fat 2.6416640348654 g
- Calories 519 calories
Step-by-step
- Add your carrots and celery to a food processor and pulse until chopped finely. There can still be chunks, just no big ones. The end mixture should be somewhere in between chunky and pureed.
- Put a large skillet over medium heat and add in the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Once oil heats, add in garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add in red pepper flakes, cook for 30 seconds and then add in the onions. Cook onions for 1-2 minutes or until they begin to soften. Add in carrot/celery mixture and cook for 1 minute.
- Push the veggie mixture to the side and add in the ground turkey, crumbling as you add. Crumble with a spatula or wooden spoon. Add a pinch of the oregano flakes. Cook turkey until the meat is no longer pink.
- Combine the veggies with the turkey and season with another pinch of oregano flakes. Add in the chicken broth and cook until reduced (water evaporates).
- Add in the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste and season generously with salt and pepper. Add in the remaining oregano flakes. Bring to a boil and then lower heat and let simmer for 15 minutes. 5 minutes before the sauce is reduced, add in the basil.
- After 15 minutes, add in the zucchini pasta and mix thoroughly to combine. Plate onto dishes and garnish with Parmesan cheese.
Vibrant orange crushed tomatoes cling tightly to tender strands of green zucchini while nutty shards of parmesan melt across the surface under a sharp herbal canopy of fresh basil. Building this dish correctly requires avoiding the two most common errors: watery vegetables and dry poultry. Turkey contains significantly less intramuscular fat than beef, meaning ground turkey transitions from properly cooked to chalky and mealy within seconds if overheated. Brown the meat thoroughly at the beginning, but do not let it sit abandoned in a dry skillet once the liquid evaporates. Ground turkey needs the moisture of the crushed tomatoes and chicken broth to maintain any semblance of succulence during the fifteen-minute simmer. Pulse the carrots and celery in a food processor until they resemble coarse sand rather than a smooth puree, ensuring the soffritto breaks down completely into the sauce without releasing excessive water into the pan. Zucchini noodles introduce another moisture trap. Add the blade-cut zucchini directly into the simmering sauce during the final five minutes of cooking so the vegetable strands soften without pooling watery liquid across the plate. Judge doneness entirely by visual and textural cues rather than internal temperatures. The sauce is ready when the bright red hue deepens slightly and the oil begins to separate around the edges of the pan, indicating the raw tomato flavor has cooked out completely. Keep fresh basil leaves unwashed until the exact moment of chopping to prevent premature bruising and blackening. Grate the parmesan cheese using a microplane rather than a coarse box grater to create ultra-thin flakes that dissolve rapidly into the warm sauce. Leftovers store safely in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days, though the zucchini will continue to release moisture as it sits.
