These turkey meatballs are a real treat. A few years back, I wouldn’t be caught dead making my mom’s meatballs with turkey versus ground beef, but after many a trial and error, I’ve found the best way to prepare them. Their flavor profile is just like mom’s, but a little more garlicky, they have a nice bite from some red onion and I added a pinch of fennel seed just to keep your taste buds guessing!
I made a big batch of these, enough for two dinners and two lunches for Bryan and I. One meal I made it with spaghetti, and the other was this dish. The ciabatta is a nice crusty bread so it holds on to all of the luscious tomato sauce without becoming soggy. I also rubbed it with a fresh clove of garlic when it came out of the oven and it was heavenly. The homemade tomato sauce could not be easier, and I encourage you to double the batch so that you can freeze some for a future use (this means you don’t have to use that jarred stuff next time you’re craving sauce)!
- Tomato Sauce
- 2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, diced
- 1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
- ¾ of can of water
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp parsley
- 1 tsp basil
- ½ tsp oregano
- ½ tsp crushed pepper
- 2 tbs parmesan cheese
- Turkey Meatballs
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 2 pieces bread (can be stale baguette or even sliced white bread)
- ½ red onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp parsley
- 1 tsp basil
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp crushed red pepper
- ¼ tsp fennel
- 2 tbs ketchup
- 2 eggs
- 2 handfuls Italian breadcrumbs
- 2 handfuls parmesan
- For tomato sauce, saute onions and garlic on medium heat for five minutes.
- Add the crushed tomatoes, water and all the seasonings.
- Simmer on very low for as little as one hour to four hours, stirring occasionally.
- Preheat oven to 350.
- For the meatballs, soak the bread in a few tablespoons of water, until it is damp.
- Add the ground turkey on top.
- In a food processor, pulse together red onion, garlic, parsley and basil until finely chopped.
- Place onion mixture on top of the ground turkey and bread.
- Add the rest of the ingredients from the salt to the parmesan cheese and mix gently with your hands, careful not to overwork the meat.
- Using a tablespoon, scoop up the turkey meat and gently form into individual meatballs.
- Place on a baking sheet lightly coated with evoo and bake for 20 minutes.
- Toast ciabatta in oven with a drizzle of evoo and salt and pepper. When it comes out of the oven rub with a fresh clove of garlic.
- Assemble sliders by lining the bottom with a bit if sauce, the meatball, then sauce poured over it.
- Top with parmesan cheese and enjoy.
I know I’ve said before on here how a lot of my family’s Italian cooking reminds me of Bruce Springsteen and New Jersey in general. So, I thought I’d share a cover of “Dancing in the Dark” that I found while perusing Spotify the other day. I dig the back beat of the song and even though it’s a little slower, it still makes me tap my feet like the original version!
