Quick Ground Turkey Ragu

I've been busy this weekend updating my blog (new address: http://www.elsacooks.com/), cleaning my insanely messy house, recovering from a mild cold, and reading a book which I plan to review soon. I knew that dinner would need to be something that I could throw together at the last minute. I ended up making a super quick ragu. Usually ragu has celery and carrots in it but we're in serious need of some grocery shopping so we're out of almost everything. I did have a jalapeno though, so I added that to the mix. Feel free to use ground beef instead of turkey. I just used what I had on hand. 

Soften the onions

Add the ground turkey

Blend the tomatoes, reserving one

Cook down the sauce

Prepare the pasta

Quick Ground Turkey Ragu
Serving Size = 2 - 3

• 1 lb ground turkey
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1/8 teaspoon or so of ground cinnamon
• Salt/Pepper (about 1 teaspoon each + salt for pasta water)
• 1 jalapeno
• 5 large button mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 1 onion, diced
• Parmesan to taste
• 1/2 lb Rotini
• 5 - 6 large tomatoes (blended, but reserve one)
• Pinch of sugar
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste plus 1/3 cup water, if dry

1. Place some oil (I used EVOO) into a large stock pot over medium heat and saute the mushrooms. Remove, set aside. Saute the onions and jalapeno until they soften, then add the meat and cook through. Add the mushrooms back in and all of the spices.
2. In a blender (I have a Vitamix) blend the tomato until they turn into a sauce (you can add a touch of water if needed), pour into stock pot. Chop the reserved tomato into large pieces and add as well. Stir, add some sugar to sweeten the sauce up a bit and let it cook down and thicken (15 or 20 minutes). Towards the end, add the tomato paste and water, stir well and cook a few more minutes.
3. Meanwhile, get the pasta started. Bring water to a boil (enough to cover pasta), add salt (about 1 tablespoon), add pasta and cook for 7 - 9 minutes. Drain well.
4. Pour the sauce over the pasta, top with Parmesan to taste and serve. 

Linking to: Gallery of Favorites, Made From Scratch Tuesday