Delicious Turkey Leek Tagliatelle with Sage Breadcrumbs

Right, let’s be honest, pasta is definitely a big midweek staple in the household. And for me, there’s nothing better than a delicious hearty one. So this one is all about turkey, leeks, tagliatelle, finished with the most amazing sage breadcrumbs.

Why You’ll Love This

Trust me, it’s going to be a big hit in your household.

Ground turkey is a great alternative from beef. A lot leaner, as you can see, there’s hardly any fat in there.

Ingredients

• Fresh tagliatelle
• Ground turkey
• Beautiful baby leeks
• Shallots
• Lemon
• Garlic
• Chili
• Salt
• Pepper
• Butter
• Olive oil
• Cream
• For the Sage Breadcrumbs:
  • Breadcrumbs
  • Fresh sage
  • Olive oil
  • Butter
  • Chili
  • Fresh parsley

Instructions

1. Get that pasta water boiling.
2. Get some salt in there.
3. Pan’s on, nice and hot.
4. Get some really good color on that turkey.
5. Shallots, sliced in half.
6. Take off the ends.
7. Slice down.
8. Put that on the surface and slice.
9. Top and tail your leeks.
10. Take the top and the tails off.
11. Slice through.
12. Get that pan nice and hot.
13. Roll around.
14. In with the shallots and our leeks.
15. Roll that over.
16. Get some color on those leeks.
17. A little touch of salt.
18. A little touch of pepper.
19. Just a touch, at this early stage, of chili.
20. Start off with the garlic.
21. Keep them quite chunky.
22. Touch more salt.
23. Be generous with the olive oil.
24. Start adding my butter.
25. Gas up high.
26. Get your pan ready for your breadcrumbs.
27. Just put it on a nice ring, and just keep it nice and hot.
28. Whack up the gas.
29. Give that a little toss.
30. Flatten it again.
31. Add the turkey.
32. Grate this up, and hit it around the side of the pan.
33. Open up the turkey, and almost sort of run it through your fingers, and just sort of sprinkle it.
34. Season the top of that.
35. Salt and pepper.
36. Get your lemon, and just zest That lemon over that turkey.
37. I give that a toss.
38. Give that a really good toss.
39. Keep that nice and flat.
40. Put my pasta in.
41. Bring it up immediately.
42. Season the top and the bottom of the water.
43. Shake the pan, stop it from sticking to the bottom.
44. Season it on top as well.
45. Gas, nice and high.
46. Start off with a touch of olive oil to stop that butter from burning.
47. Put my butter in so it goes nice and frothy.
48. Season that butter.
49. Add my breadcrumbs in there.
50. Roll up the leaves and just slice the sage. Nice and fine.
51. In she goes.
52. Check the pasta again.
53. What I’m going to put in there now to bring this together is about a couple of tablespoons of cream.
54. Gas, still nice and hot. Up high.
55. Bring that up to the boil.
56. Some fresh parsley. Right at the very end, in with those breadcrumbs.
57. Get my pasta.
58. Bring your pan over to your pot.
59. Lift.
60. Don’t drain all that water off.
61. Grab your pasta.
62. I’m adding a touch more water.
63. Rolling around.
64. We’ll go back on the heat.
65. A touch more water.
66. Into the center.
67. Get your breadcrumbs.
68. Drizzle that crunch on top.

Cooking Tips

Sometimes when it’s not boiling, get some salt in there, and that will increase the actual speed of that water boiling. Really important, a rolling boil.

The secret here is to get some really good color on that turkey, okay?

Don’t go too thin, because we want this temperature quite high. And if the pan’s super hot, the actual shallots will burn.

Too fine, and they’ll burn, okay?

Make sure they’re very, very clean.

As this cooks, it’ll sort of open up across, and all those leeks will start sort of almost shredding.

I like to use all the pan. And that helps the caramelize.

If they caramelize, it’s fine, okay? If you slice them too thin, again, they’re going to burn. So keep them quite chunky, and you’ll see the way that they caramelize. And as you’re caramelizing the pan on top of the leeks, they sort of, they taste better. Sometimes, when you slice the garlic super thin, it gets very bitter.

The butter’s going to give it a bit of richness.

I want color. I want caramelization. And more importantly, I want the water out of those leeks.

That’s why I added the butter and the olive oil, because there’s no fat in this turkey, okay? So, it’s super lean. So, it is semi-healthy, but we finish it with a touch of cream to bring it together to give some richness.

And sometimes, I put it in the freezer for five minutes before I use it, because it helps get it really nice and crumbly.

I haven’t just put one big clump of ground turkey in there.

That lemon over that turkey. That’s going to give it a little bit of freshness, a bit of lightness, okay?

Don’t worry about adding that olive oil or that butter. We need that little bit of fat in there, and it stops the turkey from going dry.

The turkey is nice and separate, and it’s taking on those leeks, those onions, and those garlic.

This is a thin tagliatelle. You can use fusilli, penne, pappardelle. But this is a beautiful, quick and easy, literally 90-second pasta.

I like to season the top and the bottom of the water. Shake the pan, stop it from sticking to the bottom. And then, we’ve got this nice, salted, rolling, boiled water. And then, I like to season it on top as well, so that it’s really nicely seasoned.

I start off with a touch of olive oil to stop that butter from burning. Then, I put my butter in so it goes nice and frothy.

And you’ll see that really nice, light, flavored, sort of spicy, crispy breadcrumb on top of the pasta.

I don’t want it too cloy. I don’t want it too heavy. But just coat it with the cream.

It also helps to cool down that butter. And it gives a really nice, creamy taste.

Don’t drain all that water off.

That water’s now packed with the starch.

So important that we do not put too much cream in there.

The last 30 seconds of the cook takes place in the pan. So don’t cook the pasta completely inside the water. Take it out earlier and have the confidence to finish it in that sauce.

Serving Suggestions

It’s nice and spicy with that chili. The turkey is caramelized. The leeks have melted. The garlic is sweet.

Get your breadcrumbs. And they are so crispy. And you just literally drizzle that crunch on top.

That is a beautiful, delicious, incredible turkey pasta.

Trust me, you’re going to come out a much better chef.