Recipe: Italian "Drunken" Noodles

We love to eat here at Findlay House! 

Pasta is one of our "go to"s, especially when we're looking for a quick, filling meal. If you like pasta, you really can't go wrong with pasta, marinara sauce, and your choice of meat. Still, it's easy to take your pasta to the next level - just add a few more ingredients and spice it up. 

(Serves 4)

Ingredients:

Olive oil
1 pkg. Ground turkey
1/2 large red onion, quartered and sliced thinly
salt (to taste)
Italian seasoning (to taste)
cracked black pepper (to taste)
1/2 green bell pepper, cored and thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
½ cup white cooking wine (I used Chardonnay)
1/2 jar of pasta sauce
2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley, chopped
¼ cup fresh basil leaves, julienned, divided use
8 ounces fettuccine noodles, uncooked

Preparation:

- Season the ground turkey with salt, black pepper, garlic, and Italian seasoning. Set aside. 

- Prepare the fettuccine noodles according to the instructions on package; then, drain the noodles very well,

- While noodles boil, if you haven't prepared the veggies, do that while the turkey marinates in the spices. 

- Place a large, heavy-bottom pan over medium-high heat; add about 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and once the oil is hot, add the ground turkey, allowing it to brown in the oil for a few moments on each side; once browned, remove it from the pan/pot with a slotted spoon and place into a small bowl to hold for a moment.

- Next, add the sliced onion into the pan with the turkey drippings, and allow it to caramelize and become golden for roughly 5 minutes or so, stirring to keep it from burning (add a touch more olive oil, if necessary); once the onion starts to become golden

- You may also choose to add [more of] the salt, Italian seasoning and cracked black pepper here, and stir to combine, then add in the sliced bell peppers, and allow those to saute with the onion for about 2 minutes until slightly tender and golden

- Next, add in the garlic, and once it becomes aromatic, add in the white wine and allow it to reduce for a few moments, until almost completely reduced;

- Next, add in the tomato/marina sauce, and return the cooked brown turkey into the pan, and combine; allow it to gently simmer for about 3-4 minutes to blend the flavors, then turn the heat off;

- Then add in the chopped parsley, the spinach, and the julienned basil; 

- Add the sauce, directly to the noodles and gently toss to combine the noodles with the sauce; [You may check the seasoning to see if you need to add any additional salt or pepper.]

- To serve, add equal portions of the “Drunken” noodles to a bowl or plate 

You may opt to garnish your bowl or plate  with a sprinkle of basil; or even top with shaved Parmesan, and if desired, and an extra drizzle of olive oil.

We ate it as is, without the extra and devoured it!! SO good. Yum!

This is the Findlay House version of Italian "Drunken" Noodles - we based it on a recipe found on the Cozy Apron blog and simply tailored it to our tastes and style of cooking.

Try it and tell us what you think!!

-  D.& C.