Creamy Mustard Turkey Tagliatelle
Turkey strips cooked in olive oil and folded into a tangy crème and moutarde sauce, tossed with tagliatelles and a splash of starchy cooking water so the sauce clings to every strand.
- Total
- 26 min
- Prep 8 · Cook 18
- Serves
- 1
- Difficulty
- Easy
You'll practice: Searing · Pan sauce
- Savory
- Creamy
- Stovetop
- Oven
Instructions
-
Bring 1 l water to a rolling boil in the large pot over high heat. Season with 0.25 tsp salt.
~6 min
Salting the water seasons the pasta from within as it cooks, so the strands themselves taste seasoned, not just the sauce.
-
While step 1 cooks
While the water heats, cut the dinde into strips about 1 cm thick and pat them dry with paper towel. Season with the remaining 0.25 tsp salt and the black pepper.
~4 min
Drying the turkey strips helps them brown instead of steam, and salting ahead seasons the meat throughout.
-
Add the tagliatelles to the boiling water and cook until al dente, about 9 minutes. Before draining, scoop out 120 ml of the starchy cooking water and set it aside.
~9 min
The starchy cooking water contains dissolved starch that will emulsify the sauce so it clings to every strand.
-
While step 3 cooks
While the tagliatelles cook, heat the olive oil in the frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the dinde strips in a single layer and cook until golden and cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes per side, reaching 74°C/165°F in the centre.
~10 min
A single uncrowded layer keeps the pan hot so the turkey sears golden through Maillard browning rather than steaming grey.
Cook the dinde in a single layer without crowding so it browns evenly; if your pan is small, cook it in two batches so it browns instead of steaming.
Searing Pat the turkey dry and leave space between strips; a hot pan should sizzle on contact. Crowding drops the temperature and steams the meat grey instead of browning it.
-
Lower the heat to medium. Stir the moutarde into the pan with the dinde, then pour in the crème and the reserved 120 ml starchy cooking water. Simmer gently, stirring, until the sauce thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 3 minutes.
~3 min
Simmering reduces the cream and the starch in the pasta water thickens the sauce so it coats the back of a spoon.
Pan sauce Add starchy pasta water and stir as the cream simmers; the starch emulsifies the fat so the sauce turns glossy and clings. If it looks greasy, whisk in a splash more water.
-
Add the drained tagliatelles to the pan and toss for 1 minute until every strand is coated in the creamy moutarde sauce. Serve immediately.
~1 min
Pan sauce Add starchy pasta water and stir as the cream simmers; the starch emulsifies the fat so the sauce turns glossy and clings. If it looks greasy, whisk in a splash more water.