Bikini Bolognese

Bikini Bolognese

Giada, you would be so proud. I just made a divine turkey bolognese. I’ll be...

Bikini Bolognese

Giada, you would be so proud. I just made a divine turkey bolognese. I’ll be honest, I’ve never made turkey bolognese, so I did a lot of Googling (and went first to Giada, duh). Luckily, it was one of those fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants days… everything I added to the skillet seemed so….. right. One of the reasons I love blogging is because I will get to share my amateur experiences with you all – and I promise, there will be some not-so-pretty ones. But hey, I’m 26 years old, I’ve never had a cooking lesson (not a one!) and I just love love love food (except eggplant, ack!) …. and I always aspire to be fitter, hence the healthiness I bring to my recipes. Every Italian woman wants to be a teeeeeeeny bit thinner…. except for Giada, she’s just blessed with that goddess-like Roman blood.

Tasting Tuesday is for me to test one of the recipes for my cookbook. So thanks for being my guinea pig. The key to this recipe today is briefly pureeing the carrots and celery before cooking them. This was a last-minute decision and really added to the texture of the bolognese and enriched the sauce.

Also, when you’re reducing your sauce, don’t worry if it seems to not be very saucey – it’s supposed to be thick. Plus, once you add in the zucchini noodles it adds moisture to the sauce and results in utter perfection. So here we go…. my Bikini Bolognese, a tribute to all  pasta-lovers trying to be healthy…. oh, and I may have dipped some crusty whole wheat bread in the sauce afterwards, but I plead the fifth on that one.

 

Bikini Bolognese

5 from 1 vote
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings 2

Ingredients

  • 2-2.5 large zucchinis Blade C
  • 1/2 lb ground turkey
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 medium red onion chopped (a little more than 1/3 of a cup)
  • 1/2 of 1 celery stalk diced
  • 1/2 of 1 whole carrot diced
  • 1 tsp red hot pepper flakes or more if you like it spicy!
  • 2 medium cloves of garlic minced
  • 1 14 oz can of crushed tomatoes San Marzano is the best!
  • 3/4 tbsp tomato paste about 3 tsp
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/4 cup chicken broth
  • 1/3 cup chopped basil
  • 1 tbsp oregano flakes
  • shaved Parmesan cheese for garnish

Instructions

  • Add your carrots and celery to a food processor and pulse until chopped finely. There can still be chunks, just no big ones. The end mixture should be somewhere in between chunky and pureed.
  • Put a large skillet over medium heat and add in the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Once oil heats, add in garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add in red pepper flakes, cook for 30 seconds and then add in the onions. Cook onions for 1-2 minutes or until they begin to soften. Add in carrot/celery mixture and cook for 1 minute.
  • Push the veggie mixture to the side and add in the ground turkey, crumbling as you add. Crumble with a spatula or wooden spoon. Add a pinch of the oregano flakes. Cook turkey until the meat is no longer pink.
  • Combine the veggies with the turkey and season with another pinch of oregano flakes. Add in the chicken broth and cook until reduced (water evaporates).
  • Add in the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste and season generously with salt and pepper. Add in the remaining oregano flakes. Bring to a boil and then lower heat and let simmer for 15 minutes. 5 minutes before the sauce is reduced, add in the basil.
  • After 15 minutes, add in the zucchini pasta and mix thoroughly to combine. Plate onto dishes and garnish with Parmesan cheese.

Feel free to eat this while wearing a bikini!

Instructions with Pictures

Add your carrots and celery to a food processor and pulse until chopped finely. There can still be chunks, just no big ones. The end mixture should be somewhere in between chunky and pureed.

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Put a large skillet over medium heat and add in the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Once oil heats, add in garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add in red pepper flakes, cook for 30 seconds and then add in the onions. Cook onions for 1-2 minutes or until they begin to soften. Add in carrot/celery mixture and cook for 1 minute.

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Push the veggie mixture to the side and add in the ground turkey, crumbling as you add. Crumble with a spatula or wooden spoon. Add a pinch of the oregano flakes. Cook turkey until the meat is no longer pink.

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Combine the veggies with the turkey and season with another pinch of oregano flakes. Add in the chicken broth and cook until reduced (water evaporates).

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Add in the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste and season generously with salt and pepper. Add in the remaining oregano flakes. Bring to a boil and then lower heat and let simmer for 15 minutes, reducing the sauce. Add in the basil. After 15 minutes, add in the zucchini pasta and mix thoroughly to combine.

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Plate onto dishes and garnish with Parmesan cheese.

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with love, Ali

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Recipe Rating




comments

  • Awesome recipe how did you spiralize the zucchini I was going to use spaghetti squash what do you think?
    • Thank you so much! I used a spiralizer - all of my recipes are done with a spiralizer. Spaghetti squash is delicious but doesn't offer the texture and similarity to regular pasta that spiralized pasta does. You can click the Amazon link to purchase a spiralizer - you won't regret it! Thanks for stopping by :)
      • I saw it after commenting thank you! I will be trying a more affordable gadget I found that does the same thing which I close to sure won't be as great as yours but we shall follow me to watch my attempts as well as other great LCHF recipes!
  • Where do you find the Gluten Free Products; most groceries do not carry them????
  • Hi I am Margaret's sister and I have been trying to find ways to eat my veggies. I love salad but it gets old. So I tried this and I loved it. I did sub out the turkey for my fake chick'n because I am a vegetarian. I bought my spiralizer a week ago and used it twice already. So just wanted to say this blog and the ideas are awesome!! keep it up. I am in Orlando and I have been mentioning and sharing this with all my friends and peers.
    • Hi!! I'm so happy you're enjoying my blog and my recipes! Margaret is a doll, I'm glad she told you about the site! Keep spreading the word and let me know if there's anything you'd like me to recreate here :)
  • Do you cook the zucchini pasta before adding it?
    • Yes, you should cook the zucchini pasta for about 2 minutes in the skillet, tossing frequently. Hope that helps!
      • I'm confused about cooking noodles - in the recipe you just add the (raw noodles) and serve - then above you say cook noodles for 2 minutes in the skillet. So does that mean cook the noodles for 2 minutes in the sauce after you add them? Thank you!
  • This recipe is great, just like the others I have tried. FYI Basil is listed in the ingredients but not in the instructions.
    • so add it in!!!
    • It's in step no 5
  • This recipe is so good. Thank you for this blog.
  • I appreciate your instructions on how to cook down the sauce so it's not too watery with the zucchini pasta- I made a similar turkey bolognese and it was wonderful with the zasta.
  • Made this last night and it's INCREDIBLE! I've never been much of a ground turkey person, but it's FABULOUS in this! The sauce is so perfectly robust, I don't even miss the beef I'm used to! I served it over eggplant noodles since I had an eggplant I needed to use and it was delicious! Another home run, Ali!
  • Sounds delicious!! Did you cook the zucchini before adding it to the sauce, or just put it in raw? The recipe doesn't say.
  • Do you have nutritional information for this recipe?
  • Hi! Do you have any suggestions on storing this recipe? I plan to make it for my boyfriend and I to eat over the course of a week, but I'm not sure if it freezes well. Also, do frozen zucchini noodles re-heat well? Thanks so much! By the way, your blog is such an inspiration. You go, girl!!
    • Jillian - thanks so much for the kind comment! I would save the sauce separate from the noodles. Zucchini noodles reheat well, yes, they just release more moisture, so you have to be careful. Hope this helps!
  • Calorie count?
  • Hi Ali! Love this recipe! Can't wait for the new update of the iphone app! Good luck to you . You are doing a great job!! Keep up the good work! Sandy
  • I have a major complaint about this recipe and I want to warn everyone. In the 15 minutes that it takes to cook down the sauce, the fragrance filled by kitchen and hypnotized me into taste testing over and over and over. I think I ate about a third of the sauce before the time was up! Delicious recipe. I took my leftovers to work the next day and was the envy of all.
  • Loved this!! Do we know the calorie count?
    • Enter any recipe ingredients here to get nutrition calorie values. Just like on store packaging. http://www.caloriecount.com/cc/recipe_analysis.php
  • My fiancee' made this for dinner last night. We both loved the dish.
  • Just made this for lunch and WOW -- so good! I think even my Italian husband would be super impressed. Confession: I didn't actually have the crushed tomatoes so had to use tomato sauce. Granted this is the first time I've made this so I don't know the difference, but it takes great regardless of the substitution! 2 things: 1 - It would be super helpful, Ali, if you could provide the approximate ounces for the spiralized veggies in the recipes. It's hard the gauge "2 med zucchinis" and I think approx weight would be really helpful to know if you have too little or too much of the veggie. 2 - PLEASE add nutritional info for this recipe! Thanks! YUM!
  • Just made this for the first time tonight. I am a Type 1 Diabetic, so this recipe is a winner for me. This is a new favorite for SURE! So so so tasty!!!
  • This recipe calls for one 14-oz. can of crushed tomatoes. On "Paleo Parents", the same recipe calls for one 28-oz. can of crushed tomatoes. Could you please clarify? Thanks!
  • Made this twice now. First time we felt like 1tsp of red pepper was way too spicy for us. Actually couldn't taste all the ingredients as the red pepper overwhelmed us. I made it last night with 1/2 tsp and it was wonderful. Thank you for the recipe!!
  • Hi, I've made this recipe so many times and I love it. Just a quick question can I add in extra celery or anything else in place of the carrots? or are they key to making the sauce
    • Too much celery would offset the carrots - so just omit the carrots!
  • Do you have the nutritional info for this dish?!
  • How many Smartpoints in a serving of the Bikini Bolognese?
  • Hi! I want to give this recipe a try since you make it a lot, but I'm pescatarian. What would you substitute for the turkey?
  • Ali, this was magnificent!!! My husband reported he ate two bowls full and didn't feel bloated and stuffed like he would if it was made with pasta. Very flavorable and tasty! Love, love, loved it!!! Can't wait to experiment more with my inspiralizer!
  • I made this last night, and WOW! It was so good! I used garlic-infused olive oil, and it really popped. Love your recipes!
    • Meika! That sounds so delicious! We're coming to your place for dinner! haha!
  • It would be great if we could print your recipes online. Thank you.
    • There should be a print button right by the name of the recipe after the post!
  • I've been eyeing this recipe for a while and finally made it tonight for my boyfriend So good, we both loved it! I have missed the texture of pasta as I don't eat grains. This gave the feel of pasta without the heavy starch of pasta. I will definitely be making this on rotation!