Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Turkey Meatballs

I have found great recipes on many of your blogs, so I thought I'd share a new one I recently came across. I found this recipe a few weeks ago and thought it looked delicious. I'd never made meatballs before, so I was a little intimidated, but we decided to try it. They actually turned out well. I used dried cranberries instead of golden raisins because that is what I had on hand, and next time I think I'll bake the meatballs rather than sauté them. Has anyone ever made meatballs before? Any suggestions on baking them? What temperature? How long? Anyway, here is the recipe if anyone is interested. The yogurt sauce was delicious, and I'd serve these with some warm pita bread and a great Mediterranean salad.



Turkey Meatballs with Golden Raisins and Pine Nuts

½ pound ground white-meat turkey
½ pound ground dark-meat turkey
1 small yellow onion, minced
1 egg
¼ cup finely chopped cilantro
½ cup toasted pine nuts
½ cup golden raisins (chopped if they’re large)
½ cup fine bread crumbs
A few pinches ground cumin
½ tsp salt
A few pinches freshly ground black pepper
Olive oil

Mix all ingredients except olive oil together in a bowl, preferably using your hands. You don’t want to overwork the meat—that would make your final product tough—but you do want all ingredients to be evenly mixed. Form the mixture into balls of whatever size you like (mine were about 1 inch to 1 ½ inches). Heat a thin film of olive oil in a heavy skillet over moderate heat, and sauté the meatballs in batches, so as not to crowd them. As they begin to color, turn them regularly so that they are golden on all sides. They should be done when they are evenly browned and feel medium firm—but not hard—to the touch. Place on a paper towel to catch excess oil. Serve hot, warm, or cold with yogurt sauce.

Lemon-and-Cumin Yogurt Sauce

Nonfat plain yogurt
1 lemon, juiced
Garlic, finely chopped
Ground cumin
Ground chili
Salt
Pepper

Mix ingredients to taste in a bowl, and keep chilled until serving.

3 comments:

Melanie said...

I've made meatballs both ways - on the stove and in the oven. I think I prefer the pan. Maybe because the oven meatballs were for the little cocktail kind... I'd share the wonderful recipe I have for them, but I don't have one. I just throw whatever into a bowl and hope it comes out alright! I'd never thought about cranberries in meatballs before, they probably go better with turkey balls than using hamburger!

k. said...

Yum, yum, yum. I want to try this soon.

I bake my meatballs (small-ish)at 400 for about 18 minutes.

k. said...

My meatballs - ground beef, not turkey. Different, but good.

http://wirewhisk.blogspot.com/2008/09/mini-meatballs.html