Turkey Meatballs w/ Marinara
By Audrey Plant
Ingredients
Marinara
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, diced
5 large cloves of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoon granulated garlic
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons dried basil
1 teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
2-ounces tomato paste
2 (28-ounce cans), crushed tomatoes
2 cups water
2-3 fresh basil leaves
Meatballs
2 pounds ground turkey
2 eggs
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, minced
2 teaspoons black pepper
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon granulated garlic
1 tablespoon onion powder
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 cups panko breadcrumbs (can sub fresh breadcrumbs)
1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil + ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil for searing in batches
Instructions
Marinara
Preheat a large pot on medium-high heat with olive oil.
Sauté onions and garlic for 3-5 minutes until translucent.
Turn heat down to low and add salt, granulated garlic, dried thyme, dried oregano, pepper, and red pepper flakes.
Stir in the tomato paste until well combined and evenly coated. Sauté for 5 minutes or until the tomato paste is caramelized and deep red.
Add crushed tomatoes and water. Stir until evenly combined.
Add fresh basil leaves and simmer for 30-45 minutes on low. Stirring occasionally.
Meatballs
In a large bowl, add ground turkey, eggs, salt, fresh parsley, pepper, red pepper flakes, granulated garlic, onion powder, dried oregano, breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, and olive oil.
Mix well until the meat mixture is well combined and all ingredients are evenly distributed.
Place a large piece of wax or parchment paper on the countertop.
Lightly spray a sheet of wax or parchment paper with non-stick spray,
Using a food scoop, scoop about 2 ounces per meatball. Gently roll into a ball with your hands, and repeat until all of the meat mixture is rolled into balls.
Preheat a large skillet with olive oil on medium heat. Working in batches, add about 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 6-8 meatballs. Sauté for about 2 minutes per side or until each meatball is golden brown and cooked through for about 6-8 minutes in total per meatball.
Optional: Par-cook meatballs for 4-6 minutes and place directly into simmering marinara. Simmer for 15-20 minutes on low heat.
Notes:
The goal is to have a very tender and juicy meatball. Adding 1 egg per pound of meat helps achieve that.
If I run out of dried breadcrumbs, I use a Vitamix or food processor to pulse fresh bread (I prefer sourdough or ciabatta). It works just fine! If there are any extra, I put the rest in a Ziploc bag in the freezer.
A traditional meatball recipe usually calls for tearing bread into small pieces and soaking it with milk. I am not opposed to using milk or pieces of bread; I think the moisture level in this recipe is just fine. Additionally, I used breadcrumbs because that is what I had on hand.
