I must say, November came and went faster than I could blink an eye. But somewhere amidst the madness so many really good things happened. I mean, two friends from Philly visited, I consumed pounds upon pounds of roasted brussels sprouts (which i wrote about here ), lavished in an exquisite, albeit expensive, meal at Somerville's new locavore hotspot Journeyman and, most importantly, my brother-in-law returned safely from Afghanistan! If ever a statement called for an exclamation point, that one did.
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| First stop with Joanna was some fresh Capone's pasta at City Girl Cafe in Inman |
I have so many fond memories of November but I am now ready to plunge, head first into December. And let's be honest here, few things spell D-E-C-E-M-B-E-R like a meaty, slow cooked sauce atop a large bowl of toothsome, al dente pappardelle. It's been below freezing for the past few days and naturally my thoughts have turned to warm bowls of pasta, soups and stews.
Last week I had the pleasure of dining with my friend Kate. She brought her pasta maker back with her from Thanksgiving in North Carolina and immediately got to work hand crafting the most incredible tagliatelle--flat broad noodles excellently paired with a hearty sauce. She also slow simmered her dad's bolognese recipe which featured a combination of ground pork and beef (Whole Foods was out of ground veal). Perfectly suited to the crisp late november night, it was truly a comfort meal to remember. In fact, it was at the forefront of my mind all week and I couldn't resist attempting my own version of the dish this evening.
Bolognese sauce is traditionally a hearty ragout of beef, pork and veal hailing from Bologna, Italy. Aside from meat, the sauce, in its most traditional form, features wine, milk or cream, stock, a soffritto of carrots, celery and onion and diced pancetta. But, like any recipe, everyone has their own variation on the dish, and the great thing about cooking for yourself is the freedom to deviate from the traditional and experiment with herbs and spices.
I loved Kate's version, but I wanted to lighten the dish up a bit without compromising any of the essential richness provided by the beef and pork. I used lean ground turkey which was slow simmered with aromatics, herbs, wine, milk and stock for about an hour. I popped into Capone's Foods on Summer Street the other day and on a whim purchased a quarter pound slab of pancetta--a salty italian bacon which I used in the base of my sauce.
I perused a few recipes online before I decided on my herbs--initially I had planned to stick with nutmeg and oregano. Nutmeg makes is a great addition to savory meat based dishes and a little bit goes a long way so I added only a quarter teaspoon to the sauce. I had some fresh sprigs of thyme in the fridge so I threw in one of those, and in the last 25 minutes of simmering I added a cinnamon stick which I discarded at the end.
A great way to add robust flavor, and my favorite Italian cooking secret, is to add a parmesan cheese rind to soups, stews and sauces while they simmer. The rind gives off a rich umami essence and was a welcome addition the the bolognese. Alas, I didn't have fresh pasta on hand, so I served mine atop Trader Joe's egg pappardelle, surely the next best thing.
Ground Turkey Bolognese
Yields 6 Servings
Ingredients
2 tbs olive oil
1/2 cup minced carrot
1/2 cup minced celery
1 cup minced white onion
3 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
2 oz diced pancetta
1 lb lean ground turkey
1/2 cup warm low-fat milk
1/2 cup vegetable or chicken stock
1/2 cup white wine
3 oz tomato paste
1 12 oz tin plum tomatoes, broken apart with fingers, reserve liquid to add flavor to soups and stews
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp dried oregano
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 parmesan rind
1 cinnamon stick
S+P to taste
Plenty of fresh parmesan
Broad flat pasta of your choice (Pappardelle, Tagliatelle or Fettucini)
Method
Add olive oil to a large pot and toss in the onion, celery and carrot, sauteeing over medium heat for a few minutes. Crush garlic with the flat edge of your knife, mince and add into the soffritto, stirring frequently.
As the aromatics begin to cook, and the garlic and onion become translucent incorporate pancetta. Slowly add ground turkey, breaking it apart with a wooden spoon or spatula and allowing it to brown evenly.
Once the meat is thoroughly browned swirl in the tomato paste. Then add the milk, stock, wine, tomatoes and all the spices EXCEPT the cinnamon stick, stir, cover leaving a small opening, and simmer over low heat for one hour or until most of the juices have evaporated. After about 35 minutes add a whole cinnamon stick.
Discard cinnamon stick and parmesan rind and serve sauce atop al dente pasta with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese and a fresh salad.
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