Few weeks ago I told you about the “superfoods” package I got from US. It included chia seeds, tofu (I am not quite sure if tofu is considered a “superfood” but since this is not a blog only about healthy food I guess it doesn’t matter) and quinoa. I have already used chia seeds to make this delicious Mango Chocolate pudding and refreshing Banana smoothie… Soooo delicious! Oh and I used tofu to make these cute lemon cheesecake bites. They were absolutely fantastic – I can’t even imagine that someone wouldn’t love them.
Of course I made other great things with Chia and Tofu outside the blog and already ordered MORE!
Now the time has come to make something with Quinoa. My hubby hardly touches anything without any meat in it so he begged me to make something not vegetarian today. How can I say no to him when he looks at me this way and offers to clean a house instead of me this week! Well it was enough just to ask but I will keep that house cleaning offer in mind too. 🙂
That’s how the idea of making Turkey Quinoa Meatballs was born. I love meatballs, a lot. This is the third recipe of meatballs in this blog (previous were Pineapple Stuffed Chicken Meatballs and Avocado Stuffed Pork And Beef Meatballs). It’s symbolic that every single time I am using another kind of meat to make them.
Believe me – the combination of turkey and quinoa is perfect. It’s useable not only in meatballs but in many other dishes too. I absolutely love the taste of ground turkey combined with the texture of quinoa. I have also added some mozzarella inside of these meatballs for cheesy gooeyness!
The final touch is this creamy savory sauce. It just makes everything better for sure! I loved dipping these soft meatballs into it. YUMMY!
Ingredients
For The Meatballs:
- 1 lb (450g) lean ground turkey
- 1 cup cooked quinoa , cooled
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup chopped red onion
- 1/4 cup Panko bread crumbs
- 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black ground pepper
- mozzarella , cut in small cubes
For The Sauce:
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 cup low-sodium vegetable broth
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1 teaspoon mustard
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- salt and freshly ground black pepper , to taste
- chopped fresh parsley , for garnishing (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Mix all the meatball ingredients (except the mozzarella) together in a large bowl. Divide meat mixture into 16 portions. Place 1 (or 2 if they are small) mozzarella cube in the center of each meat portion and gently shape into ball. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until they are no longer pink in the middle.
- Meanwhile, make the sauce. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the flour and stir well, until smooth. Add the vegetable broth and turn the heat up a bit, bringing to a boil. Simmer, stirring constantly, until slightly thickened. Gradually stir in Worcestershire sauce, honey and mustard. Turn the heat down to medium and pour the heavy cream into the sauce. Stir and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Serve meatballs with the sauce spooned over the top, and garnish with fresh parsley.
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