Sunday, February 19, 2012

Turkey Meatballs with Whole Wheat Fettuccine

A healthy spin on a winter favorite - spaghetti and meatballs.  The meatballs get a great, almost-crunchy crust on the outside, but the turkey still stays nice and soft on the inside.  Delicious.

I worked off a basic recipe to help with proportions, but doctored it with what I had in my pantry.
Here's what I used:
1 lb ground turkey meat
1/4 cup store-bought Italian breadcrumbs (even better if you make your own, and you can certainly use plain breadcrumbs)
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 TB chopped Italian parsley (if you use dried, I would only use 1 tsp)
1/2 yellow onion, minced
1/2 tsp dried oregano
You can also add some grated Romano cheese, if you have it - I did not
2 TB milk
salt and freshly ground pepper
whole wheat fettuccine
Sauce - I cheated and used some Prego I had in the fridge, but added a can of tomatoes so it still tasted like fresh sauce

First, get a large pot of water on the stove for the pasta, as that takes awhile to come to a boil.  You can always turn it down with a lid on if it boils too early, but there is nothing worse that waiting on your pasta when you have delicious meatballs ready to serve!
Then for the meatballs,
Preheat your oven to 350.  Wash your hands and add all the ingredients to a large bowl and dive in there to incorporate.  Try not to overwork the meatballs, but just make sure everything is incorporated.  How does it look? If it looks too dry, add a bit more milk or even a spoon of ricotta cheese if you have some on hand. Roll into golfball sized portions.  You then have three options - you can cook them directly in the sauce, which will probably take about 12-15 minutes, you can brown them in a pan and then transfer to an oven for about 5 min, or you can pop them directly in the oven.  I opted for the latter and popped them right in a 350 degree oven.
Cook for 8 - 10 minutes, until you see the tops beginning to brown.  Then flip them until the other side browns up (another 5-8 min.)
While the meatballs are cooking, cook your sauce (as I mentioned, I used about 1 cup of Prego plus one can of San Marzano tomatoes) and your pasta.


 

Serve the meatballs over pasta with a generous portion of sauce and top with grated Parmesan and enjoy!