Per usual, I bought ground turkey at the market, without any recipe in mind. But I did know that I wanted to create something different from anything I’d already made, such as the ground turkey tacos picadillo, turkey burgers with lemon-honey mustard sauce, turkey chili and turkey burgers with sun-dried tomato mayonnaise.
Though this isn’t the most visually appealing dish, the flavors make up for it. I decided to keep the seasoning for the ground turkey gravy simple, making rosemary the prominent flavor. The meal was hearty, comforting and delicious–an ideal dinner for fall. :)
Recipe:
Olive oil
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 sweet onion (2 cups), finely chopped
1.5 lbs. lean ground turkey
4 tbsp. salted butter
4 tbsp. all-purpose flour
2 cups homemade chicken broth
1 tbsp. fat-free milk
1 tsp. rosemary, plus more or less to taste
Salt and pepper, to taste
Trader Joe’s Brown Rice Medley, cooked
2-3 zucchini, trimmed and grated
Directions
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until translucent and aromatic, about 5-8 minutes. Add ground turkey to pan and heat until cooked through. Set cooked turkey aside.
In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Once melted, add 4 tbsp. flour and whisk together, stirring until mixture thickens. Gradually whisk in chicken broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and let simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes. Add salt, pepper and rosemary.
Fully incorporate ground turkey into gravy. Keep mixture over low heat, while preparing zucchini.
In a medium saucepan, saute grated zucchini for 3-5 minutes and season with salt and pepper.
Plate a mound of the cooked brown rice medley in the center of a plate, then top with ground turkey gravy and grated zucchini.
It’s a pretty healthy dish loaded in proteins! Nice. I first thought that the green puree on top was spinach :)
I agree, it looks like spinach or finely chopped broccoli to me, ha!
I think it looks really appetising – especially with the zucchini on top. Bet it tasted great!
Actually having it for lunch right now. ;) Thank you!
You know caroline, i have never eaten ground turkey, they say it is very low in fat too.. and that zuchinni on top just makes it! what a great idea.. c
I think you’d really like it. It’s very low in fat, especially if you buy the extra lean turkey, like I did for this recipe. The extra lean obviously doesn’t have as much flavor, since it’s not as fatty, but the gravy made up for that. ;)
This sound really good…and I love how healthy it is. And I disagree with you…I think it photographed really well and your pictures are beautiful!
Aw well thank you very much, Amy, I really appreciate it! You’re right, it’s really healthy, aside from the small amount of butter and flour.
This looks hearty and fresh at the same time.
Great way to put it. :)
I wish this was my lunch. Gravy and rice, love it
I’m actually eating it for lunch right now. Wish I could send some your way!
That totally looks like fall on a plate. Well done.
Doesn’t it? Thanks so much!
Your last two pics are great Caroline! Love them! I really like the zucchini over the top. That has to add a beautiful and fresh sweetness to the meal. :)
Thank you Kristy! I tried my best to make the food look appealing in the photos. :)
So hungry just looking at your great photos! i’m super ready for the upcoming fall now :) very nice!
If only I could teleport a plate to you, ha! Thanks so much, Andy.
Oh i’d be in heaven :) keep up the amazing posts! :)
How clever to grate zucchini over this dish! I can see the use of that in many dishes! Great idea and love all these fall foods coming out!! I’m always going for the ground turkey too without having a plan!!
I’ve never done that before for a dish (only grated it to make zucchini bread), but I’ll surely do it again! Isn’t that always such an ordeal? I loveee ground turkey, but it’s getting tougher to find different recipes every time!
It does look hearty and comforting… I just love the sautéed zucchini on top! What’s in the TJ’s rice medley?
It’s very filling! Woops! I need to add that detail on the recipe. It’s a blend of long-grain brown rice, black barley and daikon radish seeds.
Seriously good healthy comfort food – looking forward to this!
Mary
As am I! Can’t wait to start cooking more fall meals.
Caroline, this looks so delicious and I love all the warm, cozy fall flavors you used. I think my husband and I would really love this. Thanks for sharing, and thanks also for stopping by my blog! :)
Hi Georgia! Thank you so much, it’s very comforting…and filling! I think your hubby would love it.
We so rarely use ground turkey, though, we talk about how we should. Probably because we have no idea how to use it…but this sounds fantastic.
That’s always the dilemma for me as well! Thanks Court. :)
This looks healthy and so cozy for an autumn dish.
Can’t wait to cook some more fall meals!
Now this is a unique recipe. I must try this.
It was surprisingly very successful!
—Caroline. —- Lovely.
You are an Artist.
My tummy is now growling… x
You’re just too nice Kim…thanks so much! xx
Looks really tasty!
Thank you!
Using the zucchini in that way is inspired! I do need to incorporate more turkey into my diet and this dish is as good a place to start as any. Thanks for sharing.
I’d never used zucchini that way before (aside from grating it for zucchini bread), so that was a first for me!
I love ground turkey but ground turkey gravy is kinda bringing a smile to my face right now. I must try this. And I love brown rice.. a nice hearty meal
Doesn’t it just warm you up inside thinking of the combo? But I’m a sucker for gravy. Now all I can think about is Thanksgiving!
we don’t get ground turkey here! Have a great weekend :)
Aw, bummer! I’m sure you could substitute something else, just wouldn’t be as lean. Hope you have a lovely weekend as well, Tandy!
Oh, if I could just get my hubby to enjoy a fabulous meal like this! I love the grated zucchini on the top! Fantastic idea.
Have a happy weekend.
:-) Mandy
You don’t have to tell him it’s lean ground turkey. :-D I’m sure he’d figure it out though, ha! Hope you have a great weekend as well, Mandy. xx
Nice. What are those black bits in the rice – is it part of the medley? I haven’t seen the medley in the supermarket here
Yeah, they’re part of the medley. It’s a blend of long-grain brown rice, black barley and daikon radish seeds.
I am so relieved to learn I am not the only one who buys certain meat cuts without any recipe in mind (I do this with chicken breasts all the time). This dish looks lovely!
Haha! Glad we’re in this together. At least there’s a wider variety of recipes for chicken, I always feel a bit limited with ground turkey–turkey burgers, tacos, lasagna, chili, and now this recipe. Time to think of some more!
A beautiful dish! I rarely have a recipe in mind when I buy food…
Cheers,
Rosa
Glad to know you’re the same way!
This sounds like a delicious dish. What a great topping as well!
Thanks so much! xx
Not a bad looking dish to me, I think it looks rather tempting.
I occasionally do use ground turkey also, and rarely know what I will wind up doing with it…this will be the next Gobbler for me for sure.
God Bless You
paul
Why thank you, Paul! I always end up buying random items at the market and figure I’ll find something to make with them. It’s been working out so far! Hope you have a great weekend.
you had me at brown rice! I love the combo of flavors and textures here. Amazing!
Thank you so much! xx
Great blend of colors and I bet it was pretty tasty too!
Tasty indeed! The rosemary was distinct, but I love its flavor, so that wasn’t a bad thing at all. :)
This looks delicious to me, Caroline. I love the grated zucchini. I haven’t added that before with my rice.
Thank you so much, Mary! It turned out to be a great combo.
This looks extra yummy! Healthy and comforting! Great fall night dinner
Thanks Erin! I love hearty, fall dinners. :)
This is so perfect for those cold days, comfort foods. Very hearty and healthy. Yum!
I am trying to use more brown rice, do you think that I could use tofu instead of turkey? Or other vegetarian alternatives? :-)
Ciao
Alessandra
You could possibly use tofu, but for the gravy part, this recipe uses chicken broth. I’m not sure if it would be as flavorful with vegetable broth? :/ Let me think on it!
What a delicious and healthy rice medley!
Thanks Angie!
Great looking dish – did you have to do anything to the zucchini (after grating it I mean?) – I find it has a lot of liquid in it and if you leave it too long before eating it it has the tendency of turning into a mush but you seem to have not had that problem judging by your beautiful photo!
Thanks Charles! I grated the zucchini then sauteed it a bit. It did have a decent amount of liquid, so I merely sifted through to get the non-mushy grated zucchini for the photo, ha! :)
You’re right, this definitely screams fall! Sitting atop that beautiful rice medley, I think it looks beautiful. Of course, I’m a sucker for anything that even mentions fall ;) Yum!
I know, I love fall meals! Can’t wait to cook some more. Thanks so much! x
That dish looks superb, I wish that was my lunch.
Thank you! :)
I am way to hungry to be reading blogs right now, and I just got hungrier. I think this is very visually appealing, and I haven’t seen grated zucchini used like that before, great way to get your greens!
Isn’t that the worst? I do it all of the time too! Thanks so much, Aimee! x
Sounds yummy and wholesome! Can’t go wrong with that.
Agreed! Thanks Geni. xx
I’m actually looking forward to Fall now!
Thanks, Caroline!
As am I!!
Ooh, another delicious treat that the continued hot weather here is going to make me wait extra long to enjoy appropriately! Well, it’s good to enjoy anticipation too, no?
Caroline, all of your recipes look fantastic! So proud!