Roasted Garlic Turkey Meat Sauce

This recipe incorporates one of my favorite super foods- garlic. I am totally in love with garlic. It just makes everything taste SO much better. Yes, your breath is a little stinky after you eat it, but so what! ;)

 I've been reading a lot of recipes that call for roasted garlic and before this recipe, I had never roasted garlic myself. Well, let me tell you, it's amazing, and I plan on using it a lot more in future dishes. 

I decided to make a red meat sauce with roasted garlic because I thought it would make for a very flavorful and hearty meal. I used ground turkey in mine, but feel free to use ground beef or any kind of meat substitute. 

I wanted to explain in detail how to roast the garlic because I'm sure some of you were like me and have never done it before. Basically you take a whole head of garlic and peel away any excess skin from it. Then chop off 1/4 inch off the top of the entire head just enough to expose the cloves. Rub olive oil all over the head of garlic and sprinkle with sea salt. Wrap it in aluminum foil and roast it at 400 degrees for 50-55 minutes. When you take it out the garlic will ooze right from the cloves, and you won't have to do much peeling at all.

Garlic has a ton of health benefits. It is said to protect the heart and is naturally blood thinning. It is also said to lower cholesterol and most importantly, has many cancer fighting components.

I served this dish over whole wheat pasta with grated Pecorino Romano cheese and torn basil leaves.  You could serve this over any kind of pasta or grain or even a baked potato.

Ingredients:

1 lb. Lean Ground Turkey

1 Red Bell Pepper- diced

1 Medium Sweet onion- diced

1 Whole Head of Garlic Roasted (directions above)

1 28.oz Can Whole Plum Tomatoes (I used San Marzanos from Trader Joe's)

1 15.oz can tomato sauce 

1 Dried Bay Leaf

1 tbsp. Oregano

1 tbsp. Italian Seasoning

1 tsp. Sea Salt

1/2 tsp. Red Pepper Flakes

1/4 tsp. Ground Pepper

1/2 Cup Basil Leaves- torn or chopped

1/2 Cup Parmesan Cheese or Pecorino Romano Cheese- Grated

2 tbsp. Olive Oil

Directions:

1) Roast garlic according to directions above

2) Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium high heat

3) Add onions and ground turkey to the pan. Cook for about 8 minutes or until the turkey is cooked through and slightly browned.

4) Add bell pepper and cook for an additional 3 minutes.

5) Add plum tomatoes and crush with a potato masher or spatula. You can leave the pieces as chunky as you'd like.

6) Add tomato sauce, roasted garlic, bay leaf, salt, pepper, and spices. Stir until evenly distributed and bring to a boil. 

7) Let sauce simmer for 20 minutes on low heat

8) Meanwhile, cook pasta or grain until tender. 

9) Plate the pasta with sauce on top. Sprinkle with cheese and torn basil leaves.

10) Eat up and enjoy! :)

*This should make about 5-6 servings