Asian Spicy Meatballs and Noodles

We don’t eat a lot of beef. Maybe a handful of times a year, mostly at restaurants, so that eliminates many dishes from our regular rotation. Some things we miss, other things we don’t. Neil definitely misses it more than I do, so I try to find good alternatives when I can. When I came across these light Asian-inspired meatballs made entirely from lean ground turkey, I knew I had to make them. Sorry in advance about the yellow lighting, we weren’t able to make dinner till around 8.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 pounds free-range organic ground turkey
• 1 1/2 cups bread crumbs
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 1 carrot, diced finely
• 3 cloves fresh garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
• 2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
• 2 tablespoons fresh chopped mint leaves
• 2 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro leaves
• Juice from 1 fresh medium lime
• 1 tablespoon molasses or wheat-free tamari sauce (woops I forgot to add this)
• Sea salt and ground pepper, to taste (use less salt if you use tamari sauce)

DIRECTIONS:

Clive couldn’t keep his little beady eyes off them

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with a reusable Exopat or Silpat. If you don’t have those, double layer parchment. 
2. In a large bowl break apart ground turkey with your hands and add bread crubs. Mix evenly. Add in the diced onion, carrot, minced garlic, grated ginger, and fresh herbs. Mix just until blended. Add in the fresh lime juice and molasses. Mix lightly. Season with salt and pepper. If you use tamari, go light on salt.
3. Form golf-sized meatballs using the palms of your hands to roll and round spoonfuls of the mixture. Place the turkey meatballs on the lined baking sheet as you roll them. Wash your hands in hot soapy water if you have to do anything else in between. You know, the whole raw-meat thing.
4. Bake the meatballs in the center of a pre-heated oven for about 20 to 30 minutes until cooked through (you’ll  probably have to break one apart). Place the baking sheet on a cooling rack and brush them with a little olive oil. 
5. Serve immediately with Asian style noodles. We used our favorite (and easy) recipe from our Stir Fry.

Since making these I’ve vowed to have fresh ginger in my crisper at all times. The smell is intoxicating, and I keep taking the remaining root out to smell it like some kind of strung-out addict. These were completely lovely. Not greasy, not oily and an amazing compliment to our Stir Fry noodles. I think they’d taste great with peanut noodles as well. Poor Clive didn’t get a meatball,  but he did get another tasty treat. More on that soon!