Turkey Bolognese from The WCK Cookbook [Video]

Purchase Feeding Humanity, Feeding Hope, WCK’s first-ever cookbook at https://wck.org/cookbook.

In this cookbook, we’ve gathered recipes inspired by many of the places our Relief Team has cooked following disasters and other crises around the world, as well as sharing inspiring narratives from the chefs, volunteers, and communities we’ve met along the way.

Comfort meals have always been a central part of WCK’s relief efforts—a warm plate of food is nourishing for both the body and soul. The World Central Kitchen Cookbook: Feeding Humanity, Feeding Hope dedicates a chapter to these hearty and heartwarming dishes that help remind people in the wake of a disaster that someone is thinking of them. Chef Wendy gave us a preview of the Turkey Bolognese recipe!

Turkey Bolognese

We have dozens of pasta dishes in our playbook, but this one is our ace in the hole. It’s infinitely adaptable, stealthily healthy, and enjoyed by all ages everywhere we serve it. It showcases a simple water-efficient technique: You cook the pasta directly in the sauce (similarly to Karla’s Creamy Curry Pasta on page 133), which starts loose and ends up enriched by the pasta’s starch-your pasta cooking liquid essentially becomes your sauce. Meaning one less pot to wash- saving time, effort, and precious water.

Serves 4 to 6

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
2 medium garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 small carrot, peeled and cut into ¼-inch dice
1 small eggplant or 1 large zucchini, cut into ½-inch cubes
1 teaspoon ground fennel
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Kosher salt
1 pound ground turkey (or ½ pound ground beef and ½ pound ground pork)
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
4 cups chicken stock or water
12 ounces penne pasta
1 cup grated parmesan cheese, for serving
½ cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, for serving

– In a medium pot, combine 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and the onion and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and carrot and cook, stirring frequently, until the carrots are softened but still crunchy, about 3 more minutes. Add the eggplant or zucchini and cook, mixing well, until the vegetables soften, about 2 more minutes. Add the fennel, coriander, bay leaf, oregano, pepper flakes, black pepper, and ½ teaspoon salt and stir to combine.

– Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and the ground meat and cook, stirring occasionally and breaking the meat up into small crumbles, until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes, mixing to incorporate it into the meat and vegetables. Add the canned tomatoes and stock and bring the sauce to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer, uncovered, until the sauce is somewhat reduced and starting to thicken, 25 to 35 minutes. It should have the consistency of a loose chili. Taste and add salt, if needed.

– Add the pasta to the pot of sauce and mix well to coat and disperse the pasta. Cook, uncovered, stirring every few minutes so that the pasta cooks evenly and doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot, until it’s al dente and the sauce is thickened, about 15 minutes. Remove the bay leaf.

– Taste and add salt and pepper, if needed. Serve with a shower of parmesan and parsley.