Who loves traditional bolognese sauce? Who loves pasta? Answer to both questions is me. But….after all the decorations are gone (almost) and the cookies and brownies and chocolate covered this and that are gone, it is time to buckle down and exercise some self-discipline for a day or so. Maybe longer if I am really being virtuous. I am leaning toward turkey instead of beef. Spiralized Zucchini instead of pasta. Back to the healthy approach to life tempered from time to time by some sweet indulgences.
Let’s talk about this fantastic recipe– the healthy stuff and, here goes, an explanation of why I am using the Insta Pot. BECAUSE I GOT IT FOR CHRISTMAS, of course. Once you get a big, exciting toy like that, you have to find a million ways to use it.
I was skeptical at first but after reading a number of cookbooks dedicated to the Insta Pot, I am quite a believer. It is easy to use, not scary (as I first thought) and, best of all, very easy to clean. It takes a bit of reading to understand the mechanics of it, but once you figure out what all the function keys do, you are just a whip smart Insta Pot user.
This recipe is a traditional bolognese, substituting turkey and modifying the steps for the Insta Pot. If you just recently acquired an Insta Pot, take it out of its box, read the short manual from cover to cover, and make this your first foray into Insta Pot land. You will not believe how fast this gadget cooks. It’s a slow cooker on steroids. In a good way.
If you want to make this in a slow cooker, follow all of the sauteeing instructions for all of the ingredients and cook the sauce on low for 6-8 hours. Then just follow the rest of the instructions, adding the milk, butter and cheese at the end.
I hope you have a Happy and Healthy 2018. This is a very good start. Please let me know in the comments below if you like your Insta Pot as much as I do.
Insta Pot Skinny Turkey Bolognese Sauce over Spiralized Zucchini
You can make this in the Insta Pot or in a slow cooker. Just saute all of the ingredients except the milk, butter and cheese which you will add at the end just as though you made the recipe in the Insta Pot.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 tablespoons butter divided
- ½ cup chopped onion
- 2/3 cup chopped celery
- 2/3 cup chopped carrot
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons garlic
- 2 bay leaves each broken in half
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 2 pounds ground turkey
- 4 tablespoons tomato paste
- ½ cup dry white wine or beef or chicken broth
- 3 14. 5 ounce cans petite diced tomatoes well drained
- 1 cup whole milk warmed
- 5 medium zucchini spiralized at room temperature
- ½ cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese plus additional for serving
Instructions
-
Instructions:
-
On the Insta Pot, select SAUTE on NORMAL setting. After one minute, add olive oil and 2 tablespoons butter. When butter melts, add chopped onion, celery and carrot. Add salt.
-
Cook for about 3-4 minutes, stirring vegetables to coat well. When the vegetables are starting to soften and brown, add the garlic, bay leaves, brown sugar and nutmeg. Cook for 1 minute.
-
Add ground turkey. Stir the mixture well and cook until turkey has lost its pink color. Add tomato paste, wine, beef or chicken broth and let it simmer until it has evaporated. Add drained tomatoes and stir thoroughly to coat all ingredients well.
-
Select CANCEL and lock the lid of the Insta Pot in place. Turn knob to SEALING and select PRESSURE COOK mode (HIGH) for 30 minutes.
-
After 20 minutes, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spread the spiralized zucchini onto a parchment lined cookie sheet. Set aside.
-
Once the bolognese has completed its cooking cycle, hit CANCEL and keep warm.
-
At this point you can put the zucchini in the oven while finishing the sauce, but not longer than 8-10 minutes just to warm it.
-
Allow the pressure to release naturally until the float valve sinks. When all of the pressure is released, carefully remove the lid of the Insta Pot and stir in the warmed milk.
-
Taste and correct the bolognese for salt. Remove bay leaves.
-
Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter to the sauce and stir in ½ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. Serve with additional freshly grated Parmesan on the side.