Hearty Turkey Spaghetti

As I was growing up, Olive Garden was the first thought in my mind when it comes to Italian cuisine. I was introduced to pizza, lasagna, chicken alfredo, and spaghetti, which are commonly eaten at home or other restaurants.  Pizza is the America's favorite food to consume and it could be easily ordered through Pizza Hut or other pizza parlors.  Spaghetti could easily be cooked at home through using that jar of Ragu or Prego bought from the grocery store.  Pasta is a simple dish to prepare with sauce or cheese.  Meat and vegetables could be added for a hearty meal.

Olive oil is vital to Italian cooking and adds flavor to the dishes.  Olive oil could be used as a salad dressing, dipping bread, or make sauce.  The spaghetti sauce bought from the grocery store could simply be made at home.  I have learned that tomatoes, garlic, onions, herbs, and cheese are the major components in Italian cuisine when it comes to making sauce.  The tomatoes liquefies when it softens for about 5 minutes on the high heat.  I would not recommend adding sugar since sauteed tomatoes and onions are naturally sweet.  The common herbs that are used to make the red sauce are basil, oregano, and parsley,  Minced garlic, chopped onions, red wine, and paprika gives more flavor and color to the red sauce.

Preparing the red sauce is real simple. The ingredients that you will need are 2 or 3 cloves of garlic, 1 small onions, 5 Roma tomatoes, 1 tsp of olive oil, 2 tbs of butter, 1/2 cup of water, 1 tsp of parsley, 1 tsp of paprika, 1-2 tlbs of red wine, 1 tsp of lemon juice, 1tsp of sea salt, and 1 dash of oregano.  Finely mince the garlic and dice the onion.  You will need 5 or 6 diced tomatoes and place them in the small pot in high heat for about 5 minutes until it softens, then stir.  Add the garlic and onions to saute until it softens and then add 2 tablespoon of red wine.  Then add butter and reduce the heat to medium low.  Slowly add 1/2 cup of water and stir. Meanwhile add olive oil, paprika, salt, dash of oregano, and 1 tsp of parsley and stir. The paprika and red wine adds color to the tomato sauce. The herbs and lemon juice balances out the sauce to make it more flavorful without adding sugar.  Let it simmer for about 30 minutes.  Lastly, add the lemon juice and stir.  

This makes about 4 servings.  It would be nice to use homemade fresh noodles, however, I used the whole package the store brought spaghetti noodles. I usually add a dash or two of salt so the water would boil faster and cook until al dente.  When the pasta is done, drain, rinse with cold water, and set aside.  Vegetables could be added as a healthier option, such as zucchini or bell peppers.  I would dice 1/2 cup of turkey sausage and added 1/4 cup of ground turkey.  Brown the turkey turkey separately using 1 tsp of olive oil then cook the chopped sausage for 2 minutes.  Drain the excess oil and then add them to the tomato sauce.  Mix both the sauce with meat and noodle evenly on low heat for about 2 minutes.  A simple hearty meal influenced by the Italian cuisine!