Herbaceous Turkey Meatballs

I'm going to a screening with the Producer tonight and needed to make something for both of us that will travel well to be consumed later. My first thought was a meatball sandwich but both of us are trying not to eat as much bread  and baked goods as we did before we we became "persons of a certain age".  So I was already on the meatball train and just decided to stay there. 

However, instead of sliding them between some delicious buttery garlic bread and smothering them with cheese, I thought better and decided to put them over some greens along with some roasted vegetables on the side. I upped the ante by deciding to make them from lean ground turkey. However, the turkey decision always screams for help with flavor and moisture. I think I got both of those covered here. This is what I came up with...

Herbaceous Turkey meatballs in Arrabiatta sauce:

1 pound lean ground turkey 

1 handful Italian parsley

6 medium basil leaves

1 whole shallot

1 clove garlic

zest of 1 lemon

1/4 c. Water

1 jar purchased Arrabiatta sauce or any marinara you like

Place the ground turkey in a bowl big enough to mix all ingredients in. Wash your hands well. Place the parsley, basil, shallot, garlic and water in a food processor or blender. I used my "Magic Bullet"; love that little thing! Whirl all of that up to make a slurry and pour it onto the turkey.

 Zest the lemon into the turkey mix. Add 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper. Now without being too aggressive, get your hands in that bowl and mix allow the ingredients well.  Try to keep the meat mixture light and not dense. 

Wash your hands well again!  

Heat a skillet to med/ high more towards high. Pour in 1-2 T. Olive oil. Now go back to the mixture and gently form meatballs. I like balls a little larger than golf balls. I made 9 balls from the 1 pound mix. This also allows you to have the serving size you wish. Brown the meatballs in the skillet making sure to allow a nice crust to form. Flip them to brown the other side. 

Turn your heat to low and once your pan has cooled to a lower temperature, pour the sauce over the top of the meatballs and cover the pan so that the meatballs simmer slowly in the  sauce allowing them to cook all the way through. This will take about 15 mins. If you are not sure cut a meatball open to check for doneness .

If you serve the hot meatballs and sauce right over the top of some nice fresh greens ( I used baby kale), the greens will wilt and will have the texture of sautéed greens without the oil.  

The roasted vegetables were chopped and tossed with olive oil, salt and pepper and were roasted in a 400 F oven for 20 minutes until they got a little color on them.

If you'd like, grate a little parmigiano on top and maybe add a little more parsley.

Enjoy!

XO MamaP