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Pumpkin Bolognese

Posted by mapleandco on

It’s that time of the year when we see pumpkins everywhere and this turkey and pumpkin bolognese is the perfect way to tuck in after a night of trick-or-treating and pumpkin carving!

PUMPKIN BOLOGNESE

I love this warming autumn Bolognese and while I’ve made with turkey bacon and mince turkey, you could easily make it vegetarian. This recipe actually uses pumpkin in 3 different ways: in the fettuccine, the sauce and diced within. Pumpkin is a great pasta substitute as its fibrous, nutritious and really easy to make: you can just use your simple vegetable peeler to cut the ribbons.

 Ingredients

1 large pumpkin (for fettuccine, puree and cubes)

1kg pumpkin fettuccine

400g pumpkin, 1 cm cubes 1 tbsp olive oil

150g onion, finely chopped 100g celery, finely chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced

400 grams organic turkey mince 6 rashers of turkey bacon

1-2 tsp fresh herbs, leaves only

1-2 tsp sea salt

1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper a few pinches chilli/ cayenne powder (optional)

400g pureed pumpkin

250-300 ml water (optional almond milk for creamy taste)

2 cans (800g) diced tomatoes or 800g fresh chopped tomatoes

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 220°c.
  2. Peel pumpkin, cut 800g of flesh into 2cm cubes, coat with olive oil and roast for 15-20 mins or until golden. When pumpkin is ready, puree 400g and set aside for sauce.
  3. With a large vegetable peeler, create 800g ribbons of fettuccine from raw pumpkin.
  4. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat, cook rashers 5-7 mins until it’s just beginning to brown.
  5. Add chopped vegetables and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until onion is translucent and soft, add garlic cook for another 2 minutes.
  6. Add turkey mince breaking it up with a spoon, 1/4 teaspoon (to start) salt, plus pepper and cayenne, and fresh herbs. Cook until meat is brown.
  7. Add pumpkin puree, tomatoes, water or milk and bring to a simmer. Cover pot, reduce heat to low, and allow sauce to cook very gently at a very low simmer for 20 minutes. Season to taste with remaining salt and toss in roasted pumpkin cubes to warm through.
  8. Boil water in kettle, pour over raw ribbons. Soak for 3 minutes, and drain.
  9. Immediately plate warm fettuccine and pour hot bolognese on top.