Ground Turkey with Penne in Mushroom-Almond Sauce
Ground turkey is so much healthier for you than ground beef and at this time of year it’s at its lowest price. Stock up now while it’s so affordable and then use it throughout the year in recipes like this one. It’s similar to a stroganoff, but with a sweeter, milder taste from the almonds, nutmeg and tarragon.
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons slivered almonds, roughly chopped
- 1 pound ground turkey breast
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- ½ pound fresh button or Bella mushrooms, sliced
- 2 sprigs fresh tarragon, chopped
- 1 can cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
- ½ cup unflavored almond milk
- 1 cup frozen green peas
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 pound whole wheat penne pasta, cooked and drained
- Parsley and additional slivered almonds to garnish
Instructions:
- Heat a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, toss in the chopped almonds and toast, shaking the pan occasionally, until you can smell the almond aroma, about 1-2 minutes. Allow the nuts to cool for a moment.
- In a large bowl, combine the ground turkey, toasted chopped almonds, salt, pepper and nutmeg and mix with clean hands or a wooden spoon until well-blended.
- Heat the olive oil in the same large skillet over medium heat. Add the ground turkey mixture and the mushrooms and saute just until the turkey is browned and fully cooked. As you’re browning the meat, chop it a bit with the spatula, but leave some larger chunks for more varied texture.
- Add the tarragon, mushroom soup and almond milk and bring just to the simmer. Cook at a low simmer until the sauce has reduced by about half. It should look thick and creamy.
- Reduce the heat to low and stir in the sour cream and peas. Cook, stirring often, just until the peas are heated through.
- To serve, place a mound of penne on each plate, top with the turkey mixture and garnish with fresh parsley and a spoonful of slivered almonds.
- Serves 6
Best friends Mandy and Chad are foodie freaks who have been cooking together since high school and now live three blocks away from each other just so they can share cookware and gadgets! We’re frustrated test kitchen cooks who have started our own test kitchen, testing cookware and recipes for our site Cookware.us
