(not quite)Iron Chef
Occasionally I fancy myself to be a much better chef than I actually am. When I get a bit cocky, I try to create a recipe based on flavors I've enjoyed in the past. The other day my grocery list consisted of:
Ground turkey
Swiss chard
Cannelloni pasta
Apple cider
I also had the following items in the fridge:
Cherry tomatoes from the garden
Mozarella cheese
Parmiggano cheese
Nasty white wine
My goal was to create an apple spiced turkey-Swiss chard cannelloni with tomato sauce.
The approximate recipe for this Cannelloni creation
1 lbs lean ground turkey
2 C Swiss Chard in strips
6 Cannelloni pasta cylinders
1 t dried sage
2 t salt
1 t pepper
2 T apple cider vinegar
1 C apple cider
2 cloves garlic
1 T olive oil
1/2 C Mozarella, grated
1/4 C Parmiggano, grated
For tomato sauce
1 8oz can chopped, stewed tomatoes
2 T tomato paste
8-12 whole cherry tomatoes
1/2 C white wine
Salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 400F.
Combine turkey, sage, salt, pepper, cider vinegar and apple cider in a medium skillet over medium heat. Stir to combine. Sautee until ground turkey brown and most liquid evaporated - about 20 mins.
Boil pasta in kettle about 8-10 mins until cylinders are slightly soft.
Remove turkey from skillet and wrap in foil. Add olive oil and garlic to saucepan and sautee until fragrant. Add Swiss chard and sautee on medium heat for 10 mins.
Combine ingredients for tomato sauce in medium saucepan and simmer over medium-high heat for 20-30 mins or until most of the liquid has evaporated off.
Combine turkey, chard and cheese (grated) in mixing bowl and stir thoroughly. Using hands stuff pasta cylinders with turkey-chard-cheese blend and put into oiled baking dish.
Smother with tomato sauce and top with additional cheese if desired. Bake for 15 mins or until cheese begins to brown.
Surprisingly, this little concotion tasted quite good. I would have added more sage and less apple cider. It paired nicely with Bogle's Petite Sirah (2002) for $10. - perhaps because of the dense tomato sauce and hearty Swiss chard, which were able to stand up to this medium-bodied, dense berry/spicy red wine.
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