Rich and delicious, and a perfect winter meal. Kids love the creamy taste, and mom loves the bonus of vegetables.
A few cooks notes, before we get started. You can save half of the mixture, and make Tetrazzini tonight, and pot pie tomorrow. The mixture is very similar. Another choice, if you are a small family, is to divide, and freeze half for another night, where you don’t feel like cooking!
For this recipe, I used spaghetti, as my pasta choice, but you may use, any type you love. My family adores the Dreamfields product, as it has a very low glycemic index for those watching carbs. I receive no compensation in mentioning this brand. We just happen to love it, and that is not easy to say in a Sicilian family! We honestly cannot taste the difference.
As for the turkey, you can cook some fresh, use leftover, substitute chicken, or do what I did and buy this at Costco. I can use this turkey for so many different things. Sandwiches, snacking, salads, soup, you name it.
Again, no compensation, I just saw it… bought it…and love it!
If you prefer no meat, omit the turkey, and add a cup more of finely chopped vegetables of your choice!
Serves 8-10 average sizes, or 6 hungry teenage boys!
Place a large pot of water on the stove to boil. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees
Ingredients:
Olive oil for pan
Kosher salt for taste
Fresh Ground Pepper for taste
Lemon for taste
1/4 stick of chopped cold butter for top
1 lb of Dreamlands Spaghetti
1/4 cup of flour
1/2 stick of butter
1/4 cup of bread crumbs (panko is fine if you like the crunch)
1/4 cup of parmesan cheese finely grated
Two carrot sticks
Two celery sticks
One large shallot
One zucchini
One bag of freshly sliced mushrooms (if no bag, the container of fresh sliced is fine)
4 cups of vegetable broth (you may use chicken stock)
1 cup of heavy cream
1 cup of cubed turkey
Chop carrots, celery, zucchini, and shallot into small pieces
Place about two tablespoons of olive oil into a hot pan on the stove. Place mushrooms first to saute. Make sure the pan has plenty of room for the mushrooms, so they start to brown.
Once mushrooms have reached a caramel color, combine the rest of the vegetables, and saute until translucent. Remove from heat, and move to the back of the stove.
We will move on to the sauce. Place the half stick of butter into a sauce pan, and add 1/4 cup of flour. Mix with a whisk, until light tan. You want to get rid of the flour flavor and make a nice thickener for the tetrazzini.
Once flour and butter are combined, and the color is good, add the broth. Using the whisk, stir on low heat as it thickens.
About this time, your water should at a boil for the spaghetti. Add the pasta to the water, and cook according to the box. BUT WAIT! Take two minutes off of the cooking time, because it will continue to cook in the oven, and you don’t want mushy pasta!
Take your nice thick sauce, and pour it back into the pan with the vegetables. Add your turkey.
At this point, I add salt, pepper, and lemon. Let the mixture simmer softly while the pasta cooks. When the pasta is ready, add the cream to the mixture, incorporate, and remove from heat.
Add pasta to the vegetables and fold together to mix completely.
Spray your large casserole pan, or if dividing, spray two pans. Place tetrazzini in a pan, and place pan on cookie sheet. This dish is bubbly, so I recommend the sheet.
Mix 1/4 cup of bread crumbs and 1/4 cup of cheese. Sprinkle liberally to cover the tetrazzini. Top with chopped butter to crisp your top.
Place the whole tray in the oven.
Cooks Note: If you are dividing, you can skip the oven on the second one, and freeze when cooled down. When you are ready to cook the frozen casserole, cook covered for at least 50 minutes, and remove the cover for the last 20 or so, until brown and bubbly.
Cook until brown and bubbly. Usually about 30 minutes, but can be longer depending on oven.
Serve up hot with a side of garlic bread and salad, or some fresh seasonal fruit. Because of its richness, a little goes a long way! The kids will love this!
Sit down to dinner as a family as often as you can, and open up the conversation!