Being that I am half Italian, my idea of comfort food is classic spaghetti and meatballs. When I am sick I crave my mother’s chicken noodle soup, and when I am away from home for long periods of time I crave her homemade pasta dishes. Unfortunately, I won’t be putting my mother’s meatball recipe on my blog anytime soon (as that is my trump card to winning over a man’s heart…aka top secret stuff), but I do highly recommend these turkey meatballs by Giada De Laurentiis. Not only are they significantly healthier than the average meatball, but they are also very easy to make and taste quite delicious (most people don’t even suspect that they are turkey meat!). For those of you that have her cookbook or have seen this recipe online, you will notice that she pairs the meatballs with a quick tomato sauce containing peas (the sauce seen in my photographs below). I gave this sauce a shot, but could not find anything enjoyable about it. I tried adding extra garlic, extra salt, even mushrooms…but there was just no remedy. So I have offered my own simple tomato sauce recipe to serve with the meatballs, which I use as the base for several pasta dishes. If you are looking for a lower carb meal, then serve the meatballs in a bowl with fresh lemon wedges and a generous sprinkling of freshly grated parmesan cheese. Whether atop pasta or served alone, these meatballs are fantastic.
NOTE: If you wish to freeze the remaining meatballs, place them into a one gallon ziplock bag with a few ladles of tomato sauce. I find that the sauce helps to keep them moist.
{ Ingredients for Meatballs }
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 ounces pancetta, finely diced
- 1/2 yellow onion, chopped
- 1 pound ground turkey (I used extra lean)
- 1/2 cup freshly grate Romano cheese
- 1/4 fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
- 1/4 cup plain bread crumbs (I use Panko)
- 1/4 cup sundried tomatoes, chopped
- 2 eggs lightly beaten
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
{ To Make the Meatballs } Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium flame. Add the pancetta and cook for about 2 minutes, to render out some of the fat. Add the onion and continue to cook until pancetta is crisp and the onion is translucent (about 5 minutes). Remove from heat and let cool.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the pancetta/onion mixture with the remaining meatball ingredients and mix with hands to combine.
Form the turkey mixture into balls, about 2 inches in diameter. Place onto a foil lined baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Now make the pasta and sauce.
{ Ingredients for Simple Sauce }
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 (28 ounce) can of whole San Marzano tomatoes, drained and chopped
- 2 whole garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 yellow onion, chopped
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/3 cup fresh basil, finely chopped
{ To Make Simple Sauce } Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium flame. Sautee the onion for about 3 minutes, then add the garlic and continue to cook for another minute or two (do not burn the garlic). Add the salt, pepper, parsley, and tomatoes. NOTE: If you like your tomato sauce spicy, then add some crushed red pepper flakes at this time! Cook for 10 minutes, then add meatballs to sauce and continue to heat until warm throughout.
{ To Serve } Laddle tomato sauce over cooked out pasta (I use linguine) and top with 2-3 meatballs. Sprinkle freshly grated Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley over the dish, and enjoy!
TheGrubDaily 