The inspiration for this Homemade Turkey Ragu Sauce was my second attempt at making gluten free pasta.  As you will see, the post is about the sauce because the pasta did not turn out so well.  STRIKE TWO. This result does not detour me.  It reminds me how much fun cooking and trying new things is.  If it always turned out well, how much fun would it be?  DO YOU HAVE ANY GOOD FAILS TO SHARE WITH ME?

As a quick and total aside, I write this post as Stanley sits at my feet.  We adopted a black lab this holiday weekend.  He is the sweetest dog.  Now the only thing I have to worry about is Stanley not stealing all the food I leave on the counter as I cook.  I consider this a new challenge!

One of the best cooking TIDBITS is learning how to take a base recipe and adapt it.  When you find something that works, you are free to experiment or just make a simple change.  In this case, I took my MARINARA SAUCE, which is totally awesome, and simply added ground turkey to it.  How easy is that?  I also love to add Italian sausage to my ground turkey for additional depth of flavor.  You can choose mild or spicy depending on your spice tolerance. 

The sauce comes together quite quickly.  The ground turkey and sausage is cooked first.  A trick I learned from an Italian chef is cook the ground turkey on high heat.  Then, you will not need to add any oil.  Once the turkey is browned, drain off the excess liquid if it did not all cook out.  Next, just follow the directions for the marinara sauce.  Combine the turkey mixture with the marinara and you are done.   

Sauce Ingredients.

Browning of the ground turkey and sausage.

The Pasta finished off with the Sauce before serving.

The Homemade Turkey Ragu Sauce Plated.

The Recipe

Homemade Turkey Ragu Sauce

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Nothing better than a Homemade Turkey Ragu Sauce made with ground turkey and Italian sausage melded into a marinara sauce.

Recipe By Feed Your Soul Too

Prep20 minutes mins

Cook1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Total1 hour hr 35 minutes mins

Servings12 people

Scale

1x2x3x

Ingredients 

• ▢ 3 Whole Carrots, diced
• ▢ 3 Stalks Celery, diced
• ▢ 1 Whole Yellow Onion, diced
• ▢ 28 Ounces San Marzano Whole Tomatoes
• ▢ 25 Ounces Mutti Tomato Juice
• ▢ 5 Cloves Garlic, roasted
• ▢ 2 Tbsp Tomato Paste
• ▢ 2 Tsp Salt
• ▢ 2 Tsp Black Pepper
• ▢ 1 Tbsp Oregano Leaves
• ▢ 1 Peel Parmesan Rind
• ▢ 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
• ▢ 1 LB Ground Turkey
• ▢ 3 Links Italian Sausage

Instructions 

• Begin by putting the cloves in tin foil and drizzle with oil. Place in a 400 degree oven for 45 minutes or so. Remove from oven and open the tin foil to cool some.

  At same time, brown the turkey and sausage on high heat until full browned.  Remove the ground turkey and pour off any excess liquid and set aside.

  Next begin heating the oil in a Dutch Oven on medium heat. Add the celery, carrots, onions and seasonings and cook for 5 minutes until softened being sure to scrape on any bits on the bottom of the pan. Next, add the tomato paste and cook for a couple of minutes. Mix well.

  Squeeze the roasted garlic into the Dutch oven and cook for 2 minutes breaking up the garlic. Next, add the tomato juice and simmer for a couple of minutes. Now, add in the San Marzano tomatoes with sauce. Simmer for 15 minutes. Next, add in the Parmesan rind and simmer for another 30 minutes. Check the seasoning level.  Add back in the ground turkey and simmer for 10 minutes.

  Finish by adding the pasta to a skillet and toss with as much sauce as you like.  After 1 minute, it is ready.

  Serve and enjoy!