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Oven-Baked Turkey Meatballs
Meatballs and meatloaves are a staple in Jewish Italian kitchens: I would go as far as to say that every family has a different version (and every son swears that his mother’s is the best!).
For many centuries most Jews in Italy were poor, and had only sporadic access to meat: one of the ways they found to make use of cheaper cuts was grinding the meat and stretching it with different ingredients – bread, eggs, and countless vegetables. The result included not only delicious meatloaves and meatballs, but also a variety of stuffed vegetables and pasta. These dishes are great for Shabbat and the holidays when food needs to be prepared in advance and reheated, because they don’t harden and actually taste better the day after.
If you choose one of the versions that incorporate cooked, chopped vegetables (spinach, leeks, zucchini, eggplant… the options are endless!) you might also be able to sneak some greens into the diets of the most irreducible picky eaters.
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground turkey (if you are on a low-fat diet, ask for white meat only)
- 1 scallion, very finely minced
- 1 slice of bread, crust removed
- 1 egg, beaten
- 3/4 cup of white unseasoned breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup warm chicken or vegetable stock, or water (you can also use parve, unsweetened soy milk)
- 1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs or as needed
- 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg
- 3/4 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1/3 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoons freshly chopped parsley
- 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
Directions
(prep time: 20 minutes; total time: 1 hr and 15 minutes)
Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a small skillet and cook the scallion or onion in it until translucent, adding a little salt and water if needed to prevent it from sticking or turning brown.
Drain the onion from the oil and let it cool down.
In the meantime, soak the bread slices in warm broth or water till soft, then remove them, squeezing the liquid out, and set aside.
In a bowl, mix the ground turkey with the cooked scallion, the salt and pepper, parsley, bread (drained of the excess liquid), nutmeg, egg; mix everything together, working well with your hands until all the ingredients have combined. (if you are not on a low-sodium or low-fat diet you can also add two slices of a natural salami, very finely minced).
Let rest for two minutes so that the bread will absorb some liquid making the mixture easier to shape.
Shape into ping-pong size meatballs. If the mixture is so soft that you are having a hard time forming meatballs, you can add a teaspoon of bread crumbs, but don’t overdo it – your meatballs should not have the texture of real ping-pong balls
Roll the meatballs into a dish filled with the plain breadcrumbs.
Line a baking tray with a sheet of parchment paper.
Brush or spray the parchment lightly with a small amount of high-quality extra-virgin olive oil (do not use baking sprays! Just transfer a good olive oil into a spray bottle).
Arrange the meatballs on the parchment in one layer and lightly spray or brush the top with a little more olive oil.
Bake until golden (about 30 minutes) in a preheated oven at 425 F. Enjoy!
*** ALTERNATIVES: If you prefer, you can cook the meatballs in a light tomato sauce. Start a tomato sauce by cooking 1/2 an onion in 1 tablespoon of olive oil till translucent; add a can of peeled Italian tomatoes (just break them down with your hands), add salt and pepper and a small pinch of sugar; cook for about 10 minutes then add the meatballs, and cook on medium/low heat for about 20 minutes, stirring slowly and often. You can also use the same mixture to prepare one meatloaf: in this case the baking time will need to be increased by at least one third.
https://dinnerinvenice.com/2011/09/01/oven-baked-turkey-meatballs/
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