TURKEY AND RED PEPPER MACARONI

I would like to share my go to recipe for those days that I have been busy running errands for hours and don’t want to spend too much time in the kitchen.   This Turkey and Red Pepper Macaroni is satisfying and healthy and it is prepared in very little time.  This is a great tasting easy pasta dish that is a perfect meal for the tired cook as well as the hungry eaters. If you have not tried these fat noodles, or “macaroni” as we used to call them in Iran, give them a try.  Macaroni cooks fairly quickly and it gets filled with the delicious meat sauce.  Turkey and Red Pepper Macaroni is a favorite comfort food with the pickiest eaters of all ages. Serve it with slices of garlic bread and fresh herbs, or salad. In very little time you will prepare a wonderful quick meal that is delicious and healthy for the whole family.

I have used Misko No2 macaroni for this recipe.  This pasta comes in a 1 pound package and only half of it is used for this recipe

The ground turkey is browned until no longer pink.  Next, diced red bell pepper, fried onions, spices, lemon juice and tomato paste are added

Water is added and after it comes to a boil the temperature is reduce, the pan is covered and simmered

The macaroni is cooked in salt water until just tender.  This particular pasta cooks faster than the other varieties; do not over cook.  Then the pasta is drained in a colander

The meat sauce is thickened and most of the liquid is cooked off

The cooked macaroni is returned back into the stockpot.  The meat sauce is added and tossed with macaroni.  The pan is covered and the Turkey with Red Pepper and Macaroni is cooked over low heat for 15 more minutes.

Enjoy this flavorful Turkey and Red Pepper Macaroni with a piece of garlic bread, Salad Shirazi or your favorite salad and of course Sabzi Khordan (fresh herbs)!  The peppers in this picture are sweet Japanese Shishito peppers (Persians love fresh hot or sweet peppers with their meals almost as much as they love Sabzi Khordan)

TURKEY AND RED PEPPER MACARONI

 

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Serves 3-4

Author: Homa

Recipe type: Pasta

Cuisine: Persian

Ingredients

• 8 ounces Misko macaroni. Other tubular pastas such as rigatoni, cavatappi or penne would be good substitutes.
• 1 ¼ pounds ground turkey
• 1 TBSP vegetable oil
• 2 tsp meat spice or your favorite curry powder
• ½ tsp kosher salt
• ¼ tsp freshly cracked black pepper
• ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
• 3 ounces tomato paste
• 1 large yellow onion, sliced and fried golden brown in 3 TBSP of vegetable oil (about 4 ounces fried onions)
• 1 TBSP fresh lemon juice
• ½ large red bell pepper, deseed and dice medium
• 1½ cups boiling water

Instructions

1. Heat one tablespoon oil in a medium skillet.
2. Add turkey and saute over medium heat until no longer pink. Stir several times.
3. Add the meat spice, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes and stir.
4. Add tomato paste and fried onions. Stir to coat the meat uniformly. Saute for 4 minutes over medium heat. Add the lemon juice and diced red bell pepper and saute for another 3 minutes.
5. Add 1½ cups hot water. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Cover the skillet, reduce the heat to low. Simmer for about 30 minutes, or until the sauce is thickened. Remove from the heat and set aside.
6. Break the Misko macaroni in half, set aside.
7. In a non-stick 6-qt stockpot bring salted water to a boil and add the macaroni. Cook until al dente.
8. Drain noodles completely. Return the cooked macaroni back into the stockpot and add the meat sauce.
9. Toss to coat the noodles evenly in the sauce.
10. Cover the stock pot, cook over low heat for about 15 minutes, stirring frequently.

Notes

Serve hot with slices of garlic bread and fresh herbs, or salad.

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