Turkey, rocket and pine nut pasta recipe

Neven Maguire's turkey, rocket and pine nut pasta

10 ratings

Prep Time:10 mins

Cooking Time:15 mins

Serves:4 Adults

Cost:Low

This is a quick, easy and delicious way of using leftover turkey meat

Ingredients

200g / 8 oz. of penne pasta
3 tablespoons of pine nuts
1 tablespoon of cooking oil
200g / 8 oz. of cooked turkey meat, cubed
200g / 4 oz. of mushrooms, sliced
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 teaspoon of fresh thyme leaves - or ½ teaspoon of dried thyme
1 tablespoon of fresh basil chopped - or 1 teaspoon of dried basil
2 teaspoons of wholegrain mustard
100ml / ¼ pint of low-fat crème fraiche
125g / 4½ oz. of wild rocket, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon of parmesan cheese
Salt and black pepper, to taste

Method

Put the penne pasta in a large pan of boiling, salted water and cook for about 10 minutes until ‘al dente’ - cooked but still firm
Heat a frying pan over a medium heat and add the pine nuts. Gently cook for a few minutes until lightly toasted, tossing occasionally to prevent them from burning. Tip into a bowl and set aside
Add 1 tablespoon of oil to the frying pan and sauté the mushrooms, onion, garlic and thyme for 2 to 3 minutes until softened and just beginning to colour
Stir in the mustard, turkey, crème fraiche and then bring to a gentle simmer
Cook for 1 minute to just heat through but don’t allow the mixture to boil!
Drain the pasta and quickly refresh in cold water for a few seconds to prevent it from cooking any more, then return to the pan. Pour in the creamy turkey mixture and add the chopped rocket and basil. Toss lightly together to combine and season to taste
To serve, spoon the pasta on to warmed serving plates and then sprinkle over the toasted pine nuts and garnish with some Parmesan shavings

What you will need

Saucepan
Wooden spoon

Serving suggestions

For someone with a nut allergy, the pine nuts can be replaced by chickpeas for a similar crunchy texture

"Store any leftovers in your fridge"

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