Tag Archives: ground turkey

Roasted Turkey Meatballs With Mozzarella and Scallions

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These meatballs are straightforward to make and a welcome addition to many meals. The combination of mozzarella, scallions and jalapeño is cheerfully reminiscent of jalapeño poppers, and those ingredients—along with crushed Ritz crackers instead of bread crumbs — add fat and moisture for tenderness (which also makes them irresistible to nibble on while making dinner).

Our jalapeños were the size of small cucumbers, so our better judgement told us to use only one of them. In the end, the balls were only slightly spicy. But if you just can’t take any level of heat, omit the jalapeño(s) for a milder meatball.

You can eat these with Italian, Mexican or Middle Eastern flavors; their versatility is limitless. Dip them into green sauce, ketchup or tahini; swaddle them in tortillas, pitas or hero rolls; or plop them on top of rice, refried beans, mashed sweet potatoes or sturdy salad greens. In the end, we paired them with a curly pasta shape, and a favorite jarred marinara sauce.

TIP: We used individually-wrapped 1-ounce pieces of mozzarella and shredded them on a box grater, and it worked great.

Roasted Turkey Meatballs With Mozzarella and Scallions

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

  • ½ cup crushed buttery crackers, like Ritz
  • 1 large egg
  • 1½ tsp. ground cumin
  • Kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal) and black pepper
  • 6 scallions, coarsely chopped
  • 2 jalapeños, seeded if desired, coarsely chopped
  • 1 lb. ground turkey
  • 2 oz. chopped mozzarella, preferably fresh (about ½ cup)

Directions

  1. Heat the oven to 425 degrees and line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
  2. In a large bowl, stir together the cracker crumbs, egg, cumin, 1 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper until a paste forms. Stir in the scallions and jalapeños, if using (reserve a little of each for garnish, if you like).
  3. Add the turkey and use your hands to mix until combined. Add the mozzarella and mix just until combined. The mixture will be loose and sticky.
  4. Using wet hands, roll into 12 meatballs (3 tablespoons each) and place on the prepared sheet pan. Bake until cooked through and bottoms are golden, 15 to 20 minutes.
  5. Garnish with optional reserved scallions and jalapeños, if you like.

http://www.lynnandruss.com

Recipe by Ali Slagle for NYTimes Cooking

Jalapeño-Turkey Meatballs and Spaghetti

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Intrigued with this odd combination found in a recent Fine Cooking Magazine, we were pleasantly surprised at the results. Despite two large jalapeños and some chili powder, it was only slightly spicy. Of course, if you did want to ramp up the heat, don’t discard the jalapeño seeds.

Our meatballs did stick to the foil, so we suggest using parchment or coating the baking sheet with an oil spray such as Pam. Also, to thicken the sauce, we added about 2/3 of the shredded Gouda to the cream cheese/milk mixture, then sprinkled the remainder on top.

If you have leftovers, top with some milk and/or olive oil to add moisture before popping in the microwave.

Jalapeño-Turkey Meatballs and Spaghetti

  • Servings: 6-8
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

  • 2 egg whites, lightly beaten 
  • 2 Tbsp.s olive oil 
  • 1 Tbsp. milk
  • 2 tsp. chili powder
  • 2 lbs. uncooked ground turkey breast or ground turkey
  • ⅓ cup finely chopped onion 
  • ¼ cup fine dry bread crumbs
  • 2 jalapeño peppers, seeded and minced
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
  • 1 14-16 oz. package dried multigrain, whole wheat or regular spaghetti
  • 6 oz. packages cream cheese
  • 2 cups milk
  • Salt (optional)
  • 4 oz. Gouda cheese, shredded
  • Fresh cilantro

Directions

  1. Heat oven to 375 degrees F. In bowl stir together egg whites, oil, milk, chili powder, 1 tsp. black pepper, and 1/2 tsp. salt.
  2. In large bowl combine turkey, onion, bread crumbs, jalapeños, and chopped cilantro. Fold egg white mixture into turkey mixture; mix well. Shape turkey mixture in 1-1/2-inch balls. Place on a foil-lined 15x10x1-inch baking pan. Bake 20 minutes or until no longer pink (170 degrees F).
  3. Meanwhile, cook spaghetti, with 1 tablespoon salt added to water, according to package directions. Drain; keep warm.
  4. In same pan used for pasta melt cream cheese over low heat. Add milk. Cook, stirring, until bubbly. Return spaghetti to pan; toss to coat with cream cheese mixture.
  5. Serve spaghetti with meatballs, cheese, and cilantro.

http://www.lynnandruss.com

Recipe from Fine Cooking