After going to the market this weekend and clearing out the fridge, I realized I still had a package of ground turkey meat that that needed to either go or get cooked. However, ground meat is not really something I prepare on a whim and I didn’t have enough other ingredients to make my usual turkey chili or turkey feta burgers. Having no desire to run back to the crowded market I needed to find a recipe that would work with what I had on hand. Incredibly, I found this recipe through a Google search for “turkey meatballs” (and I swear not a search for “Jessica Alba”). The results far exceeded my expectations… these are absolutely delicious.

I used half the original ingredients from Jessica’s recipe which still produced 18 meatballs at slightly larger than the suggested 1″ size. Here’s how I made these:

1 lbs. ground turkey meat
1/8 cup finely diced baby carrots
1/8 cup finely diced zucchini (cut from less than half of a whole zucchini)
1/8 cup finely diced yellow onion (again, only a partial slice from the whole onion)
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
1 tsp sea salt
1 large egg
1 Tbsp “Italian” seasoning (a store brand dried mix of Marjoram, Thyme, Rosemary, Savory, Sage, Oregano, And Basil)
1/3 cup of canned low-sodium chicken broth
1-2 Tbsp olive oil
Either Pecorino Romano or Parmigiano Reggiano to grate over the finished meatballs.

Place the meat, vegetables, panko, salt and seasoning into a large bowl. Crack the egg into the bowl and combine all ingredients by hand, breaking the egg yolk up as you go. Heat the olive oil in the widest pan available over medium heat. Meanwhile, form meatballs from the mix at about 1.5″-2″ each and arrange them on a platter or cutting board. Once the oil is hot enough, start adding the meatball to the pan (I used tongs for this part). Cook the meatballs on medium heat, turning them over to brown on all sides. After about 7 or 8 minutes turn the heat down to low, add half of the chicken broth, and cover. Let the meatballs steam in the broth until it evaporates, about 3-4 minutes. Remove the cover, add the remaining broth and turn the heat up to medium. Let the meatballs cook through until the broth evaporates and then remove from heat. Arrange the meatballs on a platter and grate some cheese over top. Enjoy.