Don’t you love it when you come home from a hard day of work to find your loving Italian grandmother hovering over the stove stirring a huge pot of spaghetti sauce that she has been working on all day?
Boy, I do. Except that it never happens to me. First of all, I’m German. Second, no one in this family has time to hover over anything other than a toddler trying to learn to use a potty.
But here is a way to get something that tastes like someone’s loving grandmother slaved over it without all the fuss. The secret? A pressure cooker.
I know the thought of a pressure cooker freaks some people out. It is kinda weird that they shoot steam yet are somehow safe to use, but they are. They also make dishes that normally take a long time (pot roast, dry beans, chicken stock) taste amazing in a much shorter time frame. Try one out!
Ingredients
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 Tbs olive oil
- 1 – 1.5 lb ground turkey
- 1 28 oz can whole tomatoes – crushed by hand
- 1 15 oz can tomato sauce
- 1 6 oz can tomato paste
- 2 bay leaves
- 1.5 Tbs Oregano
- 1.5 Tbs Basil
- Salt/pepper to taste
- Sugar (optional: if tomatoes are sour)
Directions
- Heat oil in pressure cooker over medium heat.
- Sauté onion until soft and translucent – about 3 minutes.
- Add turkey and cook until brown.
- Add tomatoes, sauce, and paste to pan. Stir.
- Add bay leaves, oregano, basil, salt, and pepper. If tomatoes are tasting sour, add a pinch of sugar. Stir.
- Close lid on pressure cooker. Bring to pressure and leave at high pressure (NOT high heat) for 15-20 minutes.
- Turn heat off and let pressure release on its own. This takes around 15 minutes. If you are in a rush you can run cold water over the closed lid and release it faster.
- Remove lid and remove bay leaves.
- Serve over noodles or spaghetti squash.