I have never made meatballs from scratch before, in fact i've never been a big lover of them. But this recipe was a definite hit with both me and the man in my life. It's a healthy dish, as turkey mince is a great alternative to beef as it contains a lot less fat, and delicious. I even had mine with courgette spirals instead of spaghetti to keep down my carbs intake.
This serves 3 big appetites, four if you have a little mouth to feed.
Ingredients for the Meatballs:
1lb of Turkey Mince
1tbsp of Basil
2 Garlic Cloves
1 Egg
1/2 cup of Panko Bread Crumbs, (1/3 cup if normal bread crumbs)
Salt/Pepper to taste
Ingredients for the Tomato Sauce:
2 tins of Chopped Tomatoes
100ml of Red Wine
2 Garlic Cloves
2 tbsp of Basil (I used fresh)
100g of Chestnut mushrooms
1/2 an Onion
1 Beef Stock Cube in 200ml of water
(add more water as you cook depending on the consistency you want)
2 tsp of sugar
Accompaniment:
1. Spaghetti or Courgette spirals and a little cheese if you are feeling naughty.
Method for the sauce:
I made my sauce earlier on in the day because I had time on my hands, but you don't have to let it simmer down for that long, this meant I ended up with a thicker sauce. You could just as easily make it when the meatballs are in the oven.
1. Blend together the basil, garlic, onion and mushrooms so they are very finely chopped.
2. Put the blended ingredients into a large, deep pan and fry them in a little coconut oil (or normal if you don't have coconut).
3. Once the garlic is cooked through and the water has been evaporated off the mushrooms add in your chopped tomatoes and red wine.
4. Stir this all together and then add in the stock cube dissolved in the water, salt, pepper and sugar.
5. Leave this to all simmer through on a low heat for roughly half an hour to get a nice thick consistency, you may need to add in some water during this process if it gets too thick.
6. I like a smooth sauce so I took to the sauce pan with a hand held blender and pulsed it into a smoother sauce. (optional)
Now onto those meatballs...
Method for the meatballs:
1. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Line a large baking tray with bake proof paper.
3. Put the turkey mince in a bowl with all the ingredients, apart from the egg.
4. I used a fork to sort of mash/combine the ingredients together.
5. Whisk the egg in a separate bowl and add to the turkey mixture.
6. Mix this together until it's mostly absorbed and all the mince is coated.
7. Roll the mixture into balls, I got 15, but they were quite large, and place on the baking tray, with small even spaces between them.
8. Pop these into the oven for about 20-25 minutes until ever so slightly brown on top and cooked through.
(Now is the time to sort out your hot water for your pasta if you would like that, if you desire courgettes keep reading...)
9. Once cooked take these out of the oven and carefully put them into your sauce, leave it to simmer and infuse for about 10 minutes.
10. Meanwhile... Take your courgette/s, one large one per two people, and grate/spiral this into long spaghetti like strings.
11. Put into a dish and microwave for 30 seconds before you serve up the meatballs. This is just enough time to heat it a little but not cook it. If you cook it it will go wet and soggy.
12. Now you are ready to serve; spaghetti or courgette topped with those delicious saucy meatballs.
This serves 3 big appetites, four if you have a little mouth to feed.
Ingredients for the Meatballs:
1lb of Turkey Mince
1tbsp of Basil
2 Garlic Cloves
1 Egg
1/2 cup of Panko Bread Crumbs, (1/3 cup if normal bread crumbs)
Salt/Pepper to taste
Ingredients for the Tomato Sauce:
2 tins of Chopped Tomatoes
100ml of Red Wine
2 Garlic Cloves
2 tbsp of Basil (I used fresh)
100g of Chestnut mushrooms
1/2 an Onion
1 Beef Stock Cube in 200ml of water
(add more water as you cook depending on the consistency you want)
2 tsp of sugar
Accompaniment:
1. Spaghetti or Courgette spirals and a little cheese if you are feeling naughty.
Method for the sauce:
I made my sauce earlier on in the day because I had time on my hands, but you don't have to let it simmer down for that long, this meant I ended up with a thicker sauce. You could just as easily make it when the meatballs are in the oven.
1. Blend together the basil, garlic, onion and mushrooms so they are very finely chopped.
2. Put the blended ingredients into a large, deep pan and fry them in a little coconut oil (or normal if you don't have coconut).
3. Once the garlic is cooked through and the water has been evaporated off the mushrooms add in your chopped tomatoes and red wine.
4. Stir this all together and then add in the stock cube dissolved in the water, salt, pepper and sugar.
5. Leave this to all simmer through on a low heat for roughly half an hour to get a nice thick consistency, you may need to add in some water during this process if it gets too thick.
6. I like a smooth sauce so I took to the sauce pan with a hand held blender and pulsed it into a smoother sauce. (optional)
Now onto those meatballs...
Method for the meatballs:
1. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Line a large baking tray with bake proof paper.
3. Put the turkey mince in a bowl with all the ingredients, apart from the egg.
4. I used a fork to sort of mash/combine the ingredients together.
5. Whisk the egg in a separate bowl and add to the turkey mixture.
6. Mix this together until it's mostly absorbed and all the mince is coated.
7. Roll the mixture into balls, I got 15, but they were quite large, and place on the baking tray, with small even spaces between them.
8. Pop these into the oven for about 20-25 minutes until ever so slightly brown on top and cooked through.
(Now is the time to sort out your hot water for your pasta if you would like that, if you desire courgettes keep reading...)
9. Once cooked take these out of the oven and carefully put them into your sauce, leave it to simmer and infuse for about 10 minutes.
10. Meanwhile... Take your courgette/s, one large one per two people, and grate/spiral this into long spaghetti like strings.
11. Put into a dish and microwave for 30 seconds before you serve up the meatballs. This is just enough time to heat it a little but not cook it. If you cook it it will go wet and soggy.
12. Now you are ready to serve; spaghetti or courgette topped with those delicious saucy meatballs.