Chef notes
This is one of those perfect dishes that is comforting, filling and tastes indulgent, but is actually filled with good-for-you ingredients. Classic Bolognese gets lightened up with ground turkey and skips the addition of milk or cream. A bell pepper is the perfect low-carb vehicle for serving the richly flavored meat mixture. But the extra can be used for a quick dinner of pizza muffins the next night!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 cup chopped carrot
- 1 cup chopped celery
- 1 cup chopped white onion
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 pounds ground turkey
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon allspice
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon ground oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/4 cup white wine (such as chardonnay)
- 4 red bell peppers
- 1 (28-ounce) can crushed San Marzano tomatoes
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Preparation
1.Preheat oven to 425 F.
2.In the bottom of a saucepan over medium heat, add the olive oil, carrots and celery, and sauté for approximately 10 minutes.
3.Add onions and garlic, and sauté for 5 minutes. Add ground turkey and cook until brown.
4.Add tomato paste, salt, pepper, allspice, nutmeg, thyme, oregano and crushed red pepper flakes. Stir to combine and cook for another 5 minutes.
5.Add white wine and increase heat to high. Let the wine reduce until the bottom of the pan is almost dry, about 3 to 5 minutes.
6.Slice red bell peppers in half, remove stem and seeds, and fill with meat mixture (about 4 tablespoons for each pepper half). Set aside remaining meat mixture for pizza muffins.
7.Add 1 cup of crushed tomatoes to your casserole dish, then add stuffed pepper halves into the dish. Add more sauce around the peppers and sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top of the peppers.
8.Bake for 18 to 20 minutes.
