Summer Squash and Turkey “Sausage” Pasta
This recipe combines the brightness of summer produce with the healthful-ness of turkey and the goodness of brown rice pasta. It’s a winner all-around and it’s easy to make gluten free. I’m forever grateful that Jovial Foods gluten free pasta is one of the best on the market; I don’t even notice it’s not “real” pasta.
Our recipe for this summer pasta includes summer squash, tomatoes, fresh basil, and ground turkey. However, if you have zucchini instead of squash, go right ahead and use that. In the mood for chicken or beef instead of turkey? Or how about pork? No problem! That’s an easy swap.
One great aspect of our original recipes is that they are well-suited for substitutions based on flavor preferences and what you have in the fridge. While I used to be pretty rigid about following recipes as- written, I completely understand that it’s not always possible. Changes need to be made sometimes and a substitute protein won’t hurt anyone.
The trick to making this dish even more delicious is that we add sausage seasoning to the ground turkey while it cooks! This allows for the meal to be pretty healthy, since it’s lean ground turkey, but still be plenty flavorful with the addition of key spices to make it taste a lot more like sausage. Of course, we could’ve made it with turkey sausage, but you know, we made this dish on the fly. And lo and behold… it was delicious!
Make this recipe for summer squash and turkey “sausage” pasta for your next dinner; I know you’ll love it!
Summer Squash and Turkey “Sausage” Pasta
Recipe by Seth Drury
Ingredients
1 box Jovial Foods Gluten Free Brown Rice Pasta (preference for penne)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound ground turkey
2 cloves of garlic (minced)
2 teaspoons fennel seeds (more if you like the flavor!)
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon salt
A few good grinds of black pepper
2 yellow summer squash (sliced into half-moons)
1 plum tomato (diced)
1 handful of fresh basil leaves (coarsely chopped)
Grated Parmesan (for serving)
Preparation
1. Fill a large pot with water and salt it heavily. Place over high heat and bring to a boil.
2. Once the pasta water is boiling, add olive oil to a second, large pot and place over medium high heat.
3. When oil shimmers add turkey, garlic, fennel, paprika, oregano, salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally until the turkey gets nicely browned (reducing heat to prevent burning).
4. A couple of minutes into cooking the turkey, add the pasta to the boiling water and cook according to the package instructions.
5. Add squash and a half cup of pasta water to the turkey and then cook, stirring frequently, until it softens, but does not start to fall apart (about 4 -5 minutes).
6. As soon as the pasta is done cooking, drain it, and then add to the other pot with the turkey and squash.
7. Add tomatoes and stir all of it together for 1 minute over low heat.
8. Remove pot from heat and stir in basil, then serve immediately in bowls with (lots of) grated Parmesan to taste. Enjoy!
Thank you for making one of our recipes! Please be sure to share it on social media with the hashtag #gfmdrecipe and tag me (@glutenfreemollied).
Enjoy!