One-pan turkey bolognese
Try mixing up your bolognese by using turkey mince instead of beef, it works really well and cooks faster (a good beef bolognese really benefits from slow cooking). This dish cooks the pasta in the same pot as the bolognese, to save energy and washing up.
This recipe is part of a budget meal plan for two. In March 2023, this recipe was costed at an average of £2.43 when checking prices at five UK supermarkets. It is designed to be made in conjunction with a low-cost store-cupboard.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 250g/9oz turkey thigh mince
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 125g/4½oz dried penne pasta, or other pasta shapes
- 400g tin chopped tomatoes
- 1 tbsp tomato ketchup
- ½ tsp dried mixed herbs or oregano
- 1 chicken stock cube
- 20g/¾oz mature cheddar, finely grated
- ground black pepper
Method
Heat the oil in a large deep non-stick frying pan, wide-based saucepan or sauté pan and fry the mince and onion together over a high heat for 3 minutes. Squish the meat using a wooden spoon to break up any large clumps and stir regularly until the onion is softened, adding a little more oil if needed.
Stir in the pasta, tomatoes, tomato ketchup, herbs and stock cube. Refill the tomato tin with water one and a half times and pour into the pan – or measure 600ml/20fl oz water into a jug and add to the pan. Season with ground black pepper, give a good stir, cover with a lid and bring to a simmer over a high heat.
Reduce the heat and simmer gently for about 15 minutes, or until the pasta is tender, stirring regularly. If you need to, remove the lid, increase the heat and simmer rapidly for a further 2–3 minutes or until the sauce is thick. You’ll need to stir more often towards the end of the cooking time so the pasta doesn’t stick as the sauce reduces. Serve with grated cheese.
Recipe Tips
If you don’t have any tomato ketchup, use tomato purée instead. You can swap your turkey for chicken mince but it will be a little more expensive and you may need a little extra oil to fry as it is likely to be leaner than the thighs (the same applies to turkey breast mince, which is lower in fat than thigh mince).
If following the budget meal plan for two, you will have bought a 500g/1lb 2oz pack of turkey and split it into two. The other part is used for the Turkey, potato and pea curry. If you’d prefer to use in one dish, you can double up and make a bolognese for four. The leftovers can be stored in the fridge and eaten over a couple of days or frozen for up to 3 months. The raw turkey can also be frozen, wrapped tightly in foil for up to 4 months.
If you decide to make the turkey without the pasta, you can reduce the amount of water to just ½ tin for simmering the mince. Serve the bolognese with spaghetti cooked in a separate pan, or spoon onto jacket potatoes, top with mash or serve with crusty bread.
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