Serves 10:
- 3 TB oil
- 1 sprig of rosemary
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 lb ground turkey, chicken, beef or lamb
- salt and pepper
- 3 TB fat
- 3 cups mushrooms
- salt and pepper
- 3 cups of sauce (tomato, pesto or cheese– click for recipes)
- salt and pepper
- 1 lb pasta
- 1 TB parsley
- 2 oz (1/2 cup) manchego or parmesan cheese, grated
- Turn oven to 425. Prepare a large baking dish (9×13) or several smaller baking dishes. I usually split this recipe into 3 or 4 portions and freeze the extra pasta. Grease the baking dish(es) with a small amount of oil.
- Infuse oil with rosemary and garlic: heat oil over low heat. Add rosemary sprig and garlic. Cook 5 minutes on each side. Discard the rosemary and garlic.
- Heat oil over high heat. Add meat and season with salt and pepper. Brown the meat, about 7 minutes.
- Cook mushrooms in 3 TB of fat. Heat the fat over medium heat. Add 1/3 of the mushrooms and a pinch of salt. Cook for about 3 minutes, stir and add 1/2 of the leftover mushrooms. Cook for about 3 minutes, stir and add the last handful of mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper.
- Cook the pasta according to the package 1 minutes before al dente. Cook the pasta in very salty boiling water. Drain the pasta, reserving 1/3 cup of pasta cooking water.
- Combine the pasta, reserved pasta cooking water, cooked meat, mushrooms and sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the parsley and half the cheese.
- Pour pasta into prepared baking dish(es). Top with remaining cheese. Bake at 425 for 15 minutes.
- This pasta dish freezes well. Reheat from frozen at 425 for 30 minutes, then turn the oven temperature down to 350 for another 20-30 minutes, until hot.
*please use organic ingredients, if possible.
Basic-Intermediary Culinary Skill Level- click to read about how I rate the difficulty of my recipes
