Turkey Bolognese

By tisch3240

Ingredients

• 56 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more as needed
• 3/4 pound Italian turkey sausage, cut into 4-inch-long links
• 1 pound ground turkey (ideal to use dark meat)
• Coarse salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 medium yellow onions, peeled and finely diced (about 2 cups)
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• Two 28-ounce cans whole peeled tomatoes with their juice
• 1/3 cup tomato paste
• Cooked rigatoni, for serving (3/4 box)
• Grated Parmesan cheese, for serving

Details

Adapted from grandparents.com

Preparation

Step 1

1. Heat the olive oil in a large heavy pan over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook, turning now and then, until browned all over, about 10 minutes. Remove the sausage to a plate and add the ground turkey to the pan along with a healthy pinch of salt and a few fresh grinds of pepper. Cook, stirring here and there, for 10 minutes, or until nicely browned. Remove to a separate plate. Add another 2 or 3 tablespoons of olive oil to the pan and add the onion and garlic. Cook these until softened and just beginning to brown, another solid 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes and their juice along with about 1/2 cup of water that youve swished in the cans to get all the tomato out of them. Add the ground turkey, stir the sauce well, and nestle in the sausages. Bring the sauce to a boil, season to taste with salt and pepper, and turn the heat to low. Cover almost completely with a lid (let the steam escape from one side) and gently simmer for 4 hours (incidentally, this is a great time to use a flame tamer if you have one), adding splashes of water every hour or so if the sauce is at all drying. Uncover the sauce and stir in the tomato paste, barely cover, and simmer for one more hour.

2. When it's about ready for serving, bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil and salt generously. Drop the rigatoni in and cook according to package directions.

3. Serve the sauce over the cooked rigatoni with a nice grating of Parmesan on top.

Serves 4 with enough for leftovers