Bolognese is my favorite Italian sauce so it comes as no surprise that I had to try this recipe and modify it to make it a bit healthier. It is equally delicious substituting chopped portabella mushrooms for the turkey. And YES, we serve it over roasted cauliflower in lieu of pasta and it is SO good! You won’t miss the pasta at all.
(modification of original recipe from NY Times)
Serves 8
- 1 ½ cups reduced sodium vegetable broth
- 1 large sweet onion, finely chopped (¼ to ½ inch pieces)
- 4 medium carrots, finely chopped (¼ to ½ inch pieces)
- 2 celery stalks, finely chopped (¼ to ½ inch pieces)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1 pound hot turkey (or chicken) sausage, removed from casings and crumbled
- 1 pound ground turkey (or chicken) breast, 99% lean
- 1 cup reduced sodium chicken broth
- 1 cube chicken bouillon dissolved in 1 cup boiling water
- 1 ½ ounces dried porcini mushrooms, rehydrated in 3 cups hot water for 20 minutes
- ¾ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- ¼ cup half-and-half cream
- 2 large heads cauliflower, broken into small florets (cut in half if needed, to get similar sizes)
- Olive oil spray
In a large Dutch oven, add vegetable broth and diced vegetables (onions, carrots, celery) and saute over medium-high heat until vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Season with salt, pepper and fennel. Add the turkey sausage and ground turkey to the pot, breaking the meat into small pieces and brown well. There should not be much liquid/oil remaining in the pan, but if so remove with a large spoon.
Meanwhile, preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place cauliflower pieces on 2 large foil lined sheet pans. Lightly spray with olive oil spray and 1 teaspoon kosher salt and ½ teaspoon freshly ground black or white pepper. Roast cauliflower in oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until florets are lightly browned. Remove from oven and keep warm.
Pour chicken broth in with the meat sauce and keep simmering until the pan is almost dry (5 to 10 minutes). Add the chicken bouillon mixture and keep simmering until the bouillon is nearly gone (5 to 10 minutes), stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, chop the rehydrated porcini into small pieces (¼ to ½ inch pieces), RESERVING the porcini liquid.
Add 1 cup of the porcini liquid to the sauce along with the diced porcinis and continue simmering until the sauce is loose but not soupy, about 10 minutes. Taste and adjust salt and pepper if needed. Add half of the parmesan cheese (reserving the remaining to sprinkle on top of the sauce when serving) and half-and-half; stir well to combine and heat for 1 to 2 minutes.
Serve sauce over cauliflower florets and sprinkle with remaining cheese.
Nutritional Info/Serving: Calories 288, Fat 9 g, Protein 33 g, Carbs 21 g
21 Day Fix Container Equivalents/Serving: 1 Red, 1.5 Green, 0.5 Blue
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