Meatballs have a bad rap with me. The grayish ovoid objects they used to slide off the giant metal spoons in the school cafeteria, studded with gristle, aren't exactly what I want to replicate when I open up my cookbook to prepare the evening meal.
And yet I tried this recipe, and to my surprise, while the meatballs slightly resemble what I remember from the cafeteria, they don't taste anything like them. And the health benefits supersede any of my qualms.
First, when you use turkey, you have already cut out most of the saturated fat you'd otherwise get from using beef. And you can buy ground turkey meat lean and organic, which I did too. Also, unlike red meat or even chicken, turkey is packed with selenium, a mineral which optimizes the body’s insulin activity to balance the blood sugar.
The recipe I read for these turkey meatballs called for use of them in a hero, but I served them with whole wheat rotini, tomatoes, spinach and melted low-fat mozzarella. You can do whatever you want. Use the hero idea if you have good, whole-grain rolls already on hand. (I didn't)
For the meatballs, you need:
- 1 lb ground lean turkey
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 tomato, diced
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 egg white
- shredded, 2% mozzarella cheese
In a bowl, mix with your hands the turkey, garlic, oregano and egg white. Once well-mixed, form turkey meat into about 20 meatballs. Wash hands with soap and water.
Heat a skillet over medium high heat. Transfer meatballs to skillet and brown on all sides. Add tomatoes and a small amount of water. Let it all cook 5 minutes.
Add spinach if desired. Let steam on top of meatballs until bright green. Serve with whole wheat pasta, or use a fork to place 4 meatballs onto a roll.
Sprinkle the dish with mozzarella and serve.
