bits and pieces

I thought I’d try a non-Asian dish for a change, so I went with a recipe for Spaghetti with Turkey Meatballs that I found in the Everyday Food Cookbook. It seemed relatively simple, though the prep time was pretty lengthy but it sounded good anyway.

Originally, I was going to make this last week, but a lot of stuff came up and I got too busy. I decided to freeze the meat, hoping it would turn out ok anyway. I will say that the preparation wasn’t too bad after all, though I got tired of chopping the parsley and onions pretty quickly after starting. The meatballs definitely took some time to prepare, though it was my first time trying to make them, and I was pretty concerned about the frozen meat messing things up. Oh, and the fact that I only had soy milk instead of cow’s milk for the mixture. The meatballs — 11 in all! — seemed to blend together all right, though they seemed really big and I barely fit them in the pan when it came time to cook them.

I forgot to buy spaghetti, so I ended up cooking angel hair (my favorite, anyway), and preparing the sauce was simple enough. Cooking the meatballs was not fun though. The book didn’t say whether or not I was supposed to cover everything while the meatballs and sauce simmered, and the sauce seemed to have stuck to the bottom of the pan while simmering and burned a bit. I ended up cooking it all much much longer than the recipe said, and even then I wasn’t entirely sure if the meatballs were done. I would definitely recommend cooking them for awhile, like closer to 15 minutes, rather than the 8 minutes they suggest. And cover it!

The recipe said to add the pasta into the pan with the sauce and meatballs, to mix it all up before serving. Now, I don’t know about you, but there is no way that I have a pan that large to fit a whole pound of pasta in with 11 meatballs and sauce. Maybe I need to get a larger pan, but it just wasn’t going to happen, so I had to plate it up afterwards.

Overall, I liked how this came out, especially with the mixture of onions, parsley, and Parmesan in the meatballs. However, due to the work involved and the drama with the meatballs, I think I’ll hold off on repeating it for awhile. I might try it again, but perhaps with ground beef instead, and I might need a bigger pan to fit everything at the end.

Here’s the recipe for reference:

Spaghetti with Turkey Meatballs
Serves 4
Prep time: 50 minutes
Total time: 1 hour

To make meatballs that are moist and tender, avoid using very lean ground turkey.

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 5 cups canned crushed tomatoes
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• Salt and pepper
• 1 large egg
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 white onion, finely chopped
• 2/3 cup plain breadcrumbs
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Asiago or Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
• 1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1 pound ground turkey
• 1 pound spaghetti

1. Make the sauce: In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic, and cook about 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes, oregano, and thyme, and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, lower heat, and simmer, covered, 20 to 25 minutes.
2. Make the meatballs: In a large bowl, whisk together egg, milk, 1 1/4 teaspoons salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper with a fork. Stir in onion, breadcrumbs, cheese, and parsley. Add turkey, and mix until combined. Form mixture into 1 1/2-inch balls.
3. Add meatballs to skillet, and spoon sauce over to coat. Place over medium heat until meatballs are just cooked through, about 8 minutes.
4. Cook spaghetti until al dente according to package instructions, about 12 minutes. Drain pasta, transfer to skillet, and toss gently with the sauce. Serve with more Parmesan.

Note: Keeping your hands wet when forming meatballs will prevent the meat from sticking, making the task much easier.