Ingredients Turkey Meatballs
- 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
- 2 yellow onions, chopped
- 8 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 1 cup basil leaves, whole (stems are ok)
- ½ cup parsley leaves, whole (stems are ok)
- ½ cup parmesan, grated
- 5 cups bread, torn into 1 inch pieces
- 3 eggs
- 3 pounds ground turkey
- 1 large jar Rao’s Tomato Sauce (or other sauce of choice)
Ingredients for Roasted Broccolini
- 2 bunches of broccolini, washed with the tips of the stems removed
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- a big pinch of salt
- 1/4th teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/4th of a lemon
Directions for Turkey Meatballs
1. Pick your largest sauté pan and heat over a medium heat with the olive oil.
2. Once the oil is nice and hot add in the onion and sauté for a few minutes until the onion is translucent and aromatic.
3. Add in the garlic, carrots and a big pinch of salt. Cook for 5 or so minutes until the vegetables are softened.
4. Transfer the onion mixture into a food processor and pulse until it forms a course paste.
5. Add in the basil and parsley and pulse a few more times.
6. Throw in the parmesan and bread and pulse again until the mixture is real thick
7. Transfer the bread/onion/deliciousness into a large bowl and carefully mix in the rest of the salt, eggs and turkey together.
8. Only mix until it’s combined, beware of overmixing, it’ll ruin the texture. You’ll know it’s well mixed once the bread/herb mixture is evenly dispersed into the meatballs. As soon as it looks pretty evenly distributed stop mixing!
9. Turn the heat back on under your pan to a medium and preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
10. Use your hands to gently form the meatballs into balls that are somewhere sized between a golf ball and a tennis ball (depending on your preference).
11. Once the pan is nice and hot add in only enough meatballs so there is space between each meatball.
12. Cook for 3-4 minutes until the side of the meatball touching the pan begins to sear and turn a nice golden color. Turn the meatballs a few times so most of the sides have color.
13. If you couldn’t fit all the meatballs in the pan rotate the meatballs in and out until they’re all browned.
14. Add all the meatballs back into pan and cover with tomato sauce.
15. Transfer pan to the oven and cook for 15-20 minutes until the internal temp of the meatballs is 155 degrees. If you don’t have a meat thermometer you can take one out and cut it open. The turkey should be firm and uniform in its color. Honestly though, since these meatballs are so moist it can be a little tricky to tell, I really think this is the motivation to go out and get yourself a meat thermometer, you’ll be happy you have it!
Directions for Roasted Broccolini
1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
2. Throw down your broccolini on a baking sheet covered in tin foil (you know, so you don’t have to clean the pan).
3. Sprinkle salt, red pepper flakes and olive oil over the broccolini and toss to coat.
4. Roast in the oven for about 20 minutes until the tips are slightly darkened but the stems are still bright green.
5. Squeeze lemon over the broccolini just before serving!