An easy turkey bolognese recipe

I use turkey mince to make a great bolognese sauce. You can use the finished sauce to make lasagne or serve it with spaghetti and parmesan cheese.

In the tips section, there are some flavour variations.

Ingredients (serves 4)
For the bolognese
1 onion, finely chopped
1 stick celery, finely chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pack turkey thigh mince
1 carrot, finely chopped

1 clove garlic crushed
1/4 nutmeg, freshly grated
1/4 pint milk
2 tablespoons tomato puree
1 beef stock pot (trust me, it improves the flavour)
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1/2 tin water
Salt and pepper

Method 

1. In a large pan, sauté the onion and celery in the olive oil over a gentle heat until the onion is translucent. 
2. Increase the heat and add the turkey mince, fry until the turkey has started to brown, stir regularly. 
3. Add the carrots, nutmeg, garlic, tomato puree, milk and salt and pepper, stir well and cook until the liquid has evaporated, stir regularly.  
4. Add the stockpot, tomatoes and water, stir well, bring to a boil and then turn down to the lowest simmer (the bolognese should just blow the odd bubble) for 30-60 minutes stirring occasionally. The longer you cook it the more "mealy" the turkey will become, like a traditional ragu sauce.

You can add more water if you need it during step 4.

Serve with spaghetti and freshly grated parmesan. For a dinner party, you may wish to serve some garlic bread and a side salad.

Flavour variations

Oregano version - you can also change the flavour by adding either 1 tsp dried oregano with the onions in step 1.

Basil and tomato - add either 1 tsp dried basil at step 4 with the tinned tomatoes. If using fresh basil, add 1 tablespoon finely shredded basil instead of the dried basil.

Mushroom - you can also add 1/2 punnet of chestnut mushrooms that have been sliced when you add the tinned tomatoes in step 4.

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Mexican rice in an Instant Pot

After a busy day at work, cooking a dinner with minimal effort and not needing to watch a pan on the stove is a blessing  This is my first venture into cooking rice in my instant pot and it was a hit, really easy and great tasting rice.

Ingredients

Olive oil

Red onion, finely chopped

Garlic, finely chopped 

Red pepper, chopped

1 tsp paprika

1 cup long grain easy cook rice

1 cup chicken or vegetable stock

1 large tomato, chopped

Salt and pepper

Parsley, finely chopped

Method

Switch on sauté mode.

Wash rice in a sieve until water runs clear. Leave to drain.

Pop in 1 tbsp olive oil. Add onion and garlic, sauté until soft. Add pepper and sauté until garlic is beginning to go golden. Cancel programme.

Add paprika and stir well. Add rice, stock, salt and pepper and stir well. Sprinkle over tomato but don’t stir. Pop on lid with valve set to pressurise and set on Rice setting.

When instant pot finishes cooking, turn off and set timer for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes release steam, sprinkle over chopped parsley and fork rice to fluff up grains.

Serves 3

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