Kate Petty, from the Health and Wellbeing team, shares a low fat alternative to bolognese.

Swap your beef mince for turkey to reduce the fat content of this classic Italian dish. It may be lighter, but the sauce is just as thick and tasty! If you want to go that one step further and make it even healthier, you can serve it with spiralized courgette (courgetti) instead of pasta. Or perhaps have a combination of the two, as we have done here.

Low fat turkey bolognese

Prep time: 10 mins Cooking time: 45 mins Quantity: serves 4

Ingredients:

  • 500g lean turkey breast mince
  • 1 tsp vegetable oil
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1 onion
  • 1 carrot
  • 3 celery sticks
  • 100g closed cup mushrooms
  • 1 tbsp tomato puree
  • 2 x 400g cans of tinned tomatoes
  • 400ml chicken or beef stock cube
  • Seasoning- salt, pepper and mixed herbs

To serve:

  • 4 large courgettes grated / 360-400g pasta of your choice

Method:

  1. Chop the onion, carrot, mushrooms and celery sticks into small chunks.
  2. Heat a large non-stick frying pan and dry-fry the turkey mince until browned. Tip onto a plate and set aside.
  3. Add the oil and gently cook the crushed garlic, onion, carrot, and celery until softened (about 10 mins). Add a splash of water if it starts to stick.
  4. Add the mushrooms and cook for a few mins, then add the tomato purée, and cook for 1 min more, stirring to make sure it doesn’t stick.
  5. Add the tinned tomatoes, turkey and stock with some seasoning. Simmer for at least 25 mins (or longer) until the sauce has thickened.
  6. If you would like to have it with courgetti, spiralize four courgettes and gently fry in a lightly oiled frying pan for around 5 mins on a low heat. If you would like to have it with pasta, boil a pan of water and cook the pasta as instructed. Serve and enjoy!