Je Goûterai - I will taste

Photography student who loves to cook and bake! My New year's resolution, to try my hand at cooking at least 52 new recipes!



28.6.12 - 52 recipes done!



Next target, 104 recipes to reach by the end of the year!
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Posts tagged "bolognese"
My Dinner: Low Carb Cottage Pie Basically made a Turkey bolognese sauce because I feel that’s way more interesting than mince and gravy. For the mash, I used a head of cauliflower instead of Potatoes then finished it off with grated cheese using a micro-plane grater because it makes a little cheese go a long way so you use less! It was soooo yummy! I served it with wilted spinach, pine nuts and a little bit of lemon juice. Was soooooo good!

My Dinner: Low Carb Cottage Pie


Basically made a Turkey bolognese sauce because I feel that’s way more interesting than mince and gravy. For the mash, I used a head of cauliflower instead of Potatoes then finished it off with grated cheese using a micro-plane grater because it makes a little cheese go a long way so you use less! It was soooo yummy! I served it with wilted spinach, pine nuts and a little bit of lemon juice. Was soooooo good!

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Turkey Bolognese – 29.3.12 I love using turkey as a healthy alternative to beef and love using it in bolognese recipes. I’ve always wanted to try making bolognese with wine because my house mate Beckie says it’s always so much better when you add it to a bolognese recipe. So I went to Waitrose today and spent forever trying to choose a red wine to cook with. All I knew was to always use a wine in cooking good enough to drink. I don’t drink red wine so this was a bit of a problem. However I ended up choosing a fruity and peppery red wine which said on the label would go well with beef so felt it would be good for a Bolognese! I know I was using Turkey but I wanted to keep to a traditional recipe and see how it would taste with the use of a healthy substitute. This is my first recipe I’ve made up from my general knowledge of bolognese recipes and numerous recipes I’ve looked at recently. Serves 2 2 tsp Olive oil½ large onion, chopped1 large clove of garlic (or 2 depending on your love for garlic)250g Turkey mince225g tinned chopped tomatoes1 tbsp tomato purée½ wine glass of red wine½ wine glass of chicken stock (I used half a stock cube to make this)Pinches of salt and pepper1 tsp Worcestershire sauce1 tsp Dried Oregano I’m not exact with Pasta measurements and did not use spaghetti for this. My day to day rule of thumb for pasta portions is 2 handfuls of dry pasta per person or 1 mug of pasta per person. So we used:5 handfuls of Dried Whole Wheat Fusilli Heat the oil in a pan and add the onions. Cook on a medium heat for about 4 minutes until softened and add the garlic. Leave this to cook for a minute or 2 then add the turkey mince. For beef you would cook till it had all browned, in this case, cook till it has firmed up (or simply looks cooked!) and even turn the heat up a little to brown. Stir the tomato purée into the mince and onion mix. Cook this off for about 2 minutes as this will create a deeper tomato flavour in the dish. When done, add the chopped tomatoes, wine, stock, Worcestershire sauce, season with salt and pepper and bring to the boil. Turn down the heat and cover, leaving it to simmer for around 25-30 minutes stirring occasionally so it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan!. Cooking the pasta. After simmering the Bolognese for about half an hour, bring a medium to large pan of salted water to the boil and add the pasta. At this point, uncover the Bolognese and leave to simmer whilst the pasta cooks. Cook the pasta according to directions on the packet, when you have 5 minutes left to cook the pasta, add the Oregano to the Bolognese and stir. When the pasta is al dente (soft but with a slight bite), drain well and distribute between 2 bowls and top with the bolognese. Season and serve with cheese if you wish :) At first I had added too much wine to my bolognese, almost turning it purple! I poured out a little of it and salvaged the dish by adding the chicken stock. All of these flavours came through really nicely when it had finished cooking. I was quite worried about the wine being too strong but leaving it to simmer for so long cooked off most of the alcohol and you got the subtle flavours of the wine in the end dish, which was really nice. I am definitely going to use wine in future bolognese recipes, it was a really nice addition and wish I’d started to use it earlier!

Turkey Bolognese – 29.3.12

I love using turkey as a healthy alternative to beef and love using it in bolognese recipes. I’ve always wanted to try making bolognese with wine because my house mate Beckie says it’s always so much better when you add it to a bolognese recipe. So I went to Waitrose today and spent forever trying to choose a red wine to cook with. All I knew was to always use a wine in cooking good enough to drink. I don’t drink red wine so this was a bit of a problem. However I ended up choosing a fruity and peppery red wine which said on the label would go well with beef so felt it would be good for a Bolognese! I know I was using Turkey but I wanted to keep to a traditional recipe and see how it would taste with the use of a healthy substitute. This is my first recipe I’ve made up from my general knowledge of bolognese recipes and numerous recipes I’ve looked at recently.

Serves 2

2 tsp Olive oil
½ large onion, chopped
1 large clove of garlic (or 2 depending on your love for garlic)
250g Turkey mince
225g tinned chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato purée
½ wine glass of red wine
½ wine glass of chicken stock (I used half a stock cube to make this)
Pinches of salt and pepper
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp Dried Oregano

I’m not exact with Pasta measurements and did not use spaghetti for this. My day to day rule of thumb for pasta portions is 2 handfuls of dry pasta per person or 1 mug of pasta per person. So we used:
5 handfuls of Dried Whole Wheat Fusilli

  • Heat the oil in a pan and add the onions. Cook on a medium heat for about 4 minutes until softened and add the garlic. Leave this to cook for a minute or 2 then add the turkey mince. For beef you would cook till it had all browned, in this case, cook till it has firmed up (or simply looks cooked!) and even turn the heat up a little to brown.

  • Stir the tomato purée into the mince and onion mix. Cook this off for about 2 minutes as this will create a deeper tomato flavour in the dish. When done, add the chopped tomatoes, wine, stock, Worcestershire sauce, season with salt and pepper and bring to the boil.

  • Turn down the heat and cover, leaving it to simmer for around 25-30 minutes stirring occasionally so it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan!.

  • Cooking the pasta. After simmering the Bolognese for about half an hour, bring a medium to large pan of salted water to the boil and add the pasta. At this point, uncover the Bolognese and leave to simmer whilst the pasta cooks.

  • Cook the pasta according to directions on the packet, when you have 5 minutes left to cook the pasta, add the Oregano to the Bolognese and stir.

  • When the pasta is al dente (soft but with a slight bite), drain well and distribute between 2 bowls and top with the bolognese. Season and serve with cheese if you wish :)

At first I had added too much wine to my bolognese, almost turning it purple! I poured out a little of it and salvaged the dish by adding the chicken stock. All of these flavours came through really nicely when it had finished cooking. I was quite worried about the wine being too strong but leaving it to simmer for so long cooked off most of the alcohol and you got the subtle flavours of the wine in the end dish, which was really nice. I am definitely going to use wine in future bolognese recipes, it was a really nice addition and wish I’d started to use it earlier!

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No. 17: Turkey Bolognese – 9.2.12 Turkey mince is probably the best substitute for regular beef mince if you are wanting to cut down on fat and lose some weight! I always eat turkey mince with rice, cooking it in a mix of honey, soy sauce and spices which is delicious! I picked up a ‘Waitrose Recipe Card’ when I was in there shopping the other day; they have this ‘Love Life’ campaign of low fat healthy foods now (which some of it tastes so good) and this recipe was part of that. Turkey mince has next to no fat in it so is a really good change from beef mince or even chicken! Serves 4 a spritz of olive oil spray1 onion, chopped1 large carrots, diced1 celery stalk, diced2 cloves of garlic, chopped2  rosemary sprigs (or use dried rosemary if you have it!)500g of Turkey Mince800g of chopped tomatoes6 sun dried tomatoes, chopped 300g of spaghetti or any pasta you have Spritz a large pan with the oil and add the onion, carrot, celery and garlic to it and cook for 5 minutes. I would stir it from time to time to make sure the garlic doesn’t burn or the other ingredients don’t catch. Add the herbs and turkey and cook this for a further 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add tomatoes, sun dried tomatoes and a splash of water (for this I used a bit of Passata which is sieved tomatoes which just adds a bit more liquid instead of the water), bring to the boil and simmer for 30 minutes or longer if you can. Until you have a rich thick sauce. Stir this from time to time to make sure it doesn’t burnt at the bottom of your pan! Whilst the sauce is cooking, cook the spaghetti/pasta in a large pan of boiling water for 8-12 minutes depending on what kind of pasta you are using. Drain this and mix the sauce in with the pasta and serve with some grated cheese. I used a dollop of cream cheese which makes it even healthier! Such a good way to use Turkey mince! I’ve never used rosemary in a Bolognese before, it wasn’t over powering but every so often you taste it coming through and it really made a difference! It was a nice change from using basil all the time! This meal also counts as towards 2 portions of your 5-a-day! I left out the carrot and celery though as they set off my IBS so I just added more onion but if you use a larger range of vegetables, it will bulk up your Bolognese sauce and will stretch over more meals if you are trying to save your pennies! You can use the sauce in all sorts of things, for example: If it’s thick enough, add some kidney beans and you have a chilli you can use in burritos! Toast English Muffin, top with the sauce and some cheese and you have your own make shift mini Pizzas! One way I love to use left over sauce is to put the rest in the bottom of a baking dish, top it with mashed sweet potato, sprinkle a bit of paprika on top and bake to make a variation of Cottage Pie!

No. 17: Turkey Bolognese – 9.2.12

Turkey mince is probably the best substitute for regular beef mince if you are wanting to cut down on fat and lose some weight! I always eat turkey mince with rice, cooking it in a mix of honey, soy sauce and spices which is delicious! I picked up a ‘Waitrose Recipe Card’ when I was in there shopping the other day; they have this ‘Love Life’ campaign of low fat healthy foods now (which some of it tastes so good) and this recipe was part of that. Turkey mince has next to no fat in it so is a really good change from beef mince or even chicken!

Serves 4

a spritz of olive oil spray
1 onion, chopped
1 large carrots, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
2  rosemary sprigs (or use dried rosemary if you have it!)
500g of Turkey Mince
800g of chopped tomatoes
6 sun dried tomatoes, chopped
300g of spaghetti or any pasta you have

  • Spritz a large pan with the oil and add the onion, carrot, celery and garlic to it and cook for 5 minutes. I would stir it from time to time to make sure the garlic doesn’t burn or the other ingredients don’t catch.

  • Add the herbs and turkey and cook this for a further 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

  • Add tomatoes, sun dried tomatoes and a splash of water (for this I used a bit of Passata which is sieved tomatoes which just adds a bit more liquid instead of the water), bring to the boil and simmer for 30 minutes or longer if you can. Until you have a rich thick sauce. Stir this from time to time to make sure it doesn’t burnt at the bottom of your pan!

  • Whilst the sauce is cooking, cook the spaghetti/pasta in a large pan of boiling water for 8-12 minutes depending on what kind of pasta you are using. Drain this and mix the sauce in with the pasta and serve with some grated cheese. I used a dollop of cream cheese which makes it even healthier!

Such a good way to use Turkey mince! I’ve never used rosemary in a Bolognese before, it wasn’t over powering but every so often you taste it coming through and it really made a difference! It was a nice change from using basil all the time! This meal also counts as towards 2 portions of your 5-a-day! I left out the carrot and celery though as they set off my IBS so I just added more onion but if you use a larger range of vegetables, it will bulk up your Bolognese sauce and will stretch over more meals if you are trying to save your pennies! You can use the sauce in all sorts of things, for example:

  1. If it’s thick enough, add some kidney beans and you have a chilli you can use in burritos!

  2. Toast English Muffin, top with the sauce and some cheese and you have your own make shift mini Pizzas!

  3. One way I love to use left over sauce is to put the rest in the bottom of a baking dish, top it with mashed sweet potato, sprinkle a bit of paprika on top and bake to make a variation of Cottage Pie!

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