Rescued Vegetable and Turkey Ragu

Serves 4 x 2 meals

Prep time  10 minutes 

Cook time 30 minutes

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion, finely diced

1 stick celery, finely chopped

1 medium carrot, peeled and finely diced

1 medium green pepper, finely diced

2 cloves garlic, crushed

500g lean turkey mince

2 tsp dried oregano

4 tbsp tomato purée 

400g can chopped tomatoes

½ tsp sugar

300ml hot chicken stock, made with 1 stock cube

1½ tbsps Worcestershire sauce, optional

Salt and black pepper 

400g can green or brown lentils, drained and rinsed

1 tbsp cornflour, mixed with 2 tbsps cold water

To serve

300g linguine or tagliatelle

40g Parmesan shavings

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan, add the onion, celery, carrot and pepper and fry gently for 4 minutes until the onion has softened. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.
2. Next, add the turkey mince and fry for 5-6 minutes, stirring until the meat has browned. Break up the mince with a wooden spoon to avoid any clumps.
3. Sprinkle over the dried oregano then stir in the tomato purée, chopped tomatoes, sugar, chicken stock and Worcestershire sauce, if using. Season with salt and black pepper, bring to the boil, then cover and simmer for 15 minutes.  
4. Next, stir in the lentils and the cornflour mixture, and simmer for an additional 5 minutes until the sauce thickens.
5. When the ragu has about 12 minutes remaining, boil a kettle, pour the boiled water into a saucepan, then add the pasta and cook for 9-10 minutes until tender. Drain in a collider and return to the pan with a drizzle of oil to prevent the pasta from sticking.
6. Check that the turkey is tender and that the ragu has thickened sufficiently, then taste and add more seasoning if required.
7. To serve, add the pasta to warm serving bowls then top with a portion of turkey ragu and sprinkle over the parmesan shaving.
8. Put the remaining ragu into a suitable container and store in the fridge or freezer to use later.

Tip

This recipe will also work well with lean minced beef and just switch the stock cube from chicken to beef.

Savings 

1 hour 30 minutes 

86p