DAN’S TURKEY BOLOGNESE
Easy / Super Healthy
This is the first thing my husband Dan ever cooked for me, and it always remained one of my faves. It fills the house with a wonderful smell, and if you have staunch meat lovers to please, they’ll have no idea it’s not red meat. IMPORTANT: MAKE THIS A DAY AHEAD. It’s much better the second day, when the meat has absorbed the sauce.
Ingredients:
@ 1 lb. ground turkey
1 onion
olive oil
1 12 oz can diced tomatoes, blended until smooth
1 small can tomato sauce
2 cloves crushed garlic
1 jar sliced mushrooms
1 tbsp red wine
3 bay leaves
1/4 – 1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/4 – 1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 – 1/2 tsp fennel
1/4 – 1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp basil
Optional: spicy chicken sausage
Note: I’m guesstimating these herb amounts: Dan would reach into the jar of herbs with his fingers and sprinkle it in. Measuring tools were rarely used in our kitchen (Hey! We’re artists!).
Kitchenware: skillet, large pot.
Drizzle olive oil in skillet. Brown ground turkey.
Put into large pot.
Drizzle more olive oil, put chopped onion in skillet and cook until tender then add to pot.
In pot, combine the remaining ingredients.
(Note: if you like a chunky sauce, don’t blend the tomatoes.)
Bring to boil, cover and simmer for at least two hours. Dan would let it simmer all afternoon.
Let cool and then set in the fridge overnight. From the photos below, you can see that the meat actually turns red when simmered and then left overnight.
It’s even better the 3rd day!
An hour or two before serving, heat sauce over medium low to low heat.
Optional: I like to chop up and brown two spicy chicken sausages, then add that and some extra tomato sauce to the pot.
Boil pasta (we like egg noodles with this, they’re big enough to hold the sauce). I especially like this Bionaturae pasta, because it comes in nests and is easy to measure (two nests is good for me) and it fits in the pot! No temptation to break the pasta!
Drain pasta, ladle or big spoon sauce on it. Grind parmesan cheese over.
Dan would chop up some fresh basil and sprinkle on top.
Serve with a nice bread (Olive Oil and Rosemary!) and a small bowl of olive oil for dipping; green salad.
Red wine, and toast the chef.
Make a big batch, and ladle into freezer bags – freezes great.
For a quickie lunch, top a toasted (whole wheat?) english muffin with sauce, add grated cheese or your favorite toppings (I like proscuitto and pineapple) and put under a broiler until cheese melts, about a minute.
Jean/Dan…
I am a newbie here today, so when I saw a recipe made by Dan Fogelberg for his bride to be Jean, as his first labor of love from the kitchen, to her…you do not have this opportunity to share that kind of love offering just any ole day of the week, or lifetime in my case.
I haven’t even been to the store yet to get the few ingredients missing from my pantry, and know this very instant, I will enjoy this dinner tonite with a special appreciation, much more than simply a satiated pallette.
More over, a few words spoken privately upon the breaking of the bread, and a feeling in my soul to have shared this moment in time.
This web effort is truly humbling. You can all be very proud of your ongoing labor of support for the giving.
Thank you so much!
Bon Appétit,
Casey Pons
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Thanks, Casey, hope you enjoyed it. ~ Jean
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Jean, this site is awesome. What a blessing. I have my own caregiving responsibilities, a story for another time. I have this recipe simmering on the stove right now, smells AMAZING. Going to have my mom, and my mother-in-law, (who is one of my neediest loved ones) over for dinner Saturday, so it’ll have a couple days to blend flavors. Gonna give them an acoustic guitar rendition of “Don’t Lose Heart”, and a song I wrote for mom years ago, totally inspired by “Leader of the Band”. My mom’s an awesome parent, going strong at 87, and she deserved that type of a song. Blessings to you, and all those caregivers who are inspired by this site.
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Hi Tim,
I serve this alot, you will not be disappointed in this delish dish. That along with some beautiful acoustic guitar music, and your family, sounds like the perfect evening. Hope you come back to DLH often and someday share your care giving journey with us. In the mealtime (meantime)
Enjoy!
~Char
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Tim, I want to “second” Char’s comment. Actually, I served this very recipe last night. My husband and I both love it (he can’t get over the fact it’s just turkey…he swears there must be hamburger and/or sausage in there somewhere). Your family will love it.
Susan D.
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Thank you Char, and Susan. It was a big hit. I made a double batch, it was really nice. I added chicken apple sausage and it was a perfect fit. My elderly mom, and mother-in-law, greatly enjoyed it. If my dad were still alive, it would have been their 63rd wedding anniversary. My niece, her husband, and my 1 year old grandson also joined in the fun.
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Tim,
Great idea with the chicken apple sausage, will try this as soon as I can. My mom and dad would have been married 63 years yesterday, if dad was still with us. It’s hard, as I am sure you know, with an elderly parent, when a wedding anniversary comes around. I usually try to do something out of the ordinary, to take her mind off of it! It looks like you succeeded.
I will add some soft music too.
~Char
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I decided to make this today. I rarely cook @ home anymore since I am always at my friend’s house taking carenof her and her family. Today would have been my mother’s birthday so, in honor of her I (loosely) followed this recipe! My house smells wonderful and I can’t wait to have it tomorrow!!! YUM
Jean, I took your chicken sausage idea and ran with it! I took (mild since spicy doesn’t agree with me) chicken sausage out of it’s casing and cooked it with the ground turkey! It took care of the fact that I had no fennel on hand and added just the right amount of flavor!!!
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It was delicious! I’ve had it for lunch or dinner every day since I made it!
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Jean — I have a confession to make: Even though Dan abhorred the idea of breaking the spaghetti, I still break it all the time. I can’t help it; it’s the way I like it. I do feel guilty when I do it, though, and whisper a quick apology to Dan each time.
Laurel
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Tried the dish and it was a major success. My husband (who can be picky) asked what else, besides the hamburger, was in the sauce. I asked him what he thought it might be. He thought it was sausage. I’ve learned, I don’t ever tell him ingredients until he decides whether or not it’s a “keeper”. He declared it was a definite “keeper”, so I told him it was turkey…no hamburger…no sausage. His response was something about “damn: tasty and healthy too”. It is very tasty. Thanks for the healthy part.
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I prepared this recipe yesterday to have for dinner tonight. It is so good! I had a bit more than I wanted while “tasting”..lol The fennel added a nice touch. It was so easy to prepare and, being Italian, I doubled the recipe for extra leftovers.
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Yay! Glad you liked it Debbie. ~ Jean
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My husband is Italian, so dinner will be taken care of for tonight. Thanks Jean!!
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This looks and sounds delicious. How much ground turkey?
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Oops! Thanks, Jim. About a pound. ~ Jean
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