Wow. It has been a little while since my last post. Quick update: after just over two years of living abroad (9 months) and then with family (14 months), we finally have our own place to call home! These turkey pesto meatballs are the first recipe I’ve developed in the new place, and I’m pretty happy with them if I do say so myself.
I’ve also been cooking in a restaurant, and unsurprisingly, after cooking for 8 hours for other people.. I don’t generally feel like cooking at home. Things will start to change shortly, pinky swear.
Now. To the good stuff that actually matters. Last weekend, I dreamt up these pesto turkey meatballs and after a minor tweak for round two – I’m ready for you all to try them out yourselves!
So, grab a large bowl and add all of the ingredients before kneading (with your hands.. gross, I know) until it’s all mixed up. Form your balls and away you go! You should have 12 meatballs – they each used about 1/4 cup of the mixture. I chose to fry them because it is pretty quick and super tasty. (I’ll admit, I didn’t test them baked in the oven but I’m sure Ian wouldn’t have any issue if we had these for a third time this week so I could test the cook time out. Stay tuned on that.) Only a few minutes per side should do it. I fried these turkey pesto meatballs in a 3 1/2 qt Le Creuset French Oven. It is about 8 inches wide. I would recommend using a pot that is about that same width as it fit the 12 turkey pesto meatballs perfectly, and make sure it has a lid.
The first time we had these turkey pesto meatballs, we had fettucine drizzled in olive oil and tossed in ground pepper and parmesan cheese. I also cooked some beans from our garden in the leftover oil from frying the meatballs. The second night, Ian had brought home some zucchini from his parents’ garden, so we spiralized it and tossed it with some fresh beans in the same pot that the meatballs were in. So you’ve got quite a few possibilities here. Heck, you could form burger patties with this recipe if you want! Bon appetit!
Turkey Pesto Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 package ground turkey about 0.365 kg
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 3 tablespoons basil pesto
- 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese finely shredded
- 1/2 teaspoon dried chillies
- 1/4 cup breadcrumbs
- 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper
- 1/4 cup olive oil for frying
Instructions
- Add first 7 ingredients to mixing bowl and knead together
- Form into 12 meatballs
- Add olive oil to pot and turn on to medium heat
- Oil is hot enough when you sprinkle some flour in and it sizzles
- Add meatballs to pot, cover with a lid and cook for 4 minutes
- Flip each meatball over and cook for another 4 minutes, with lid on
- Remove meatballs from pot, and place on a paper towel lined dish to remove excess grease
- Enjoy!
Looks amazing and simple to make! My kind of dish.