Turkey and Spaghetti Squash
This recipe is such an easy way to create a creamy, flavorful meal. Spaghetti squash goes lovely with all these ingredients, but feel fry to use a pound of any pasta or veggie spirals instead. You could even combine it with rice if you prefer that. The flavors in this dish slightly resemble the flavors in an Italian sausage. I love removing Italian sausage meat from its casing and browning it in a pan for many different recipes. Although, most of the time, prepackaged sausage from the grocery store is made with preservatives or high in sodium or the meat ground in it isn’t that lean. So that’s why I love this recipe, because I use ground turkey breast (you can use ground chicken breast too!) for a super lean meat, then I season it with sausage inspired spices. That way, not only do I know exactly what meat is ground up in it (and it’s lean), I can control how much sodium and ingredients go into flavoring it.
Ingredients:
1 spaghetti squash
½ cup chicken broth
8oz container mascarpone cheese
½ sweet onion, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
1 lb. ground turkey breast
1 clove garlic, chopped
Salt
Seasoning Mix: 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp paprika, 1 tsp cayenne, 1 tsp fennel seed, ½ tsp chili powder
Large handful of fresh parsley leaves, chopped
Grated parmesan for garnish
Black pepper for garnish
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 450. Carefully slice the spaghetti squash in half lengthwise, then use a spoon to scrape out all the seeds and flesh. Line a baking sheet with parchment then place the spaghetti squash halves flesh side down on the parchment. Bake for 30 minutes. Once they are done baking, remove from the oven and carefully flip them over immediately to cool. Set aside while cooling.
In a large pan or wok, heat olive oil over medium heat then add the onions, sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Use a wooden spoon to combine and let saute for a minute or two, until the onions begin to sweet and look translucent.
Add the garlic to the onions, then add the ground turkey breast. Sprinkle the seasoning mix over the meat, then use the wooden spoon to break up the meat as it cooks. Continue breaking up into small pieces as it’s cooking and once about half of it is no longer pink, pour the chicken broth into the pan. Continue to toss the meat around to break up any bits stuck to the pan.
Once there is no longer any pink, so all the turkey is white and cooked, add the mascarpone cheese. Stir until melted and combined completely. Once it’s a creamy sauce. Turn off the heat.
Use a fork to carefully shred the flesh of all the spaghetti squash. Transfer all the cooked spaghetti squash ribbons into the creamy turkey mixture. Toss to combine then add the fresh parsley and give one more toss. Serve immediately while hot. Garnish with freshly grated parmesan cheese and cracked black pepper.
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