Pasta With Turkey Meatballs And Bocconcini Everyday Food Recipes

SPAGHETTI WITH TURKEY MEATBALLS

Steps:

• 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.
• 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.
• Add meatballs to skillet, and spoon sauce over to coat. Place over medium heat until meatballs are just cooked through, about 8 minutes.
• 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 cheese.

PASTA WITH TURKEY MEATBALLS

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook as the label directs, adding the broccolini during the last 2 minutes of cooking. Reserve 1 cup cooking water, then drain the pasta and broccolini. Meanwhile, roll the sausage meat into about 20 small meatballs. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs and cook, turning occasionally, until browned and cooked through, 5 to 6 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Pour off any drippings from the skillet, then add the remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil, the garlic, red pepper flakes and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring, 1 minute. Add the pasta, broccolini and meatballs. Whisk the egg with the reserved cooking water in a small bowl, then add to the skillet and stir until the sauce thickens slightly. Season with salt and pepper. Divide the pasta among bowls. Sprinkle with the cheese and drizzle with olive oil.

PENNE WITH TURKEY MEATBALLS

Steps:

• In a large bowl add bread crumbs milk and mix until well combined. Mix in eggs and 1/2 cup Romano cheese and mix well. Add turkey and gently combine, being careful not to overwork the meat. Season with salt and pepper. Shape into golf-size balls.
• In a large skillet heat the oil over medium high heat. When almost smoking, add meatballs and without moving or turning the meat, allow it to brown for about 3 minutes. Turn meatballs and brown other side. Continue to cook until all sides are golden brown, about 8 minutes total. Add tomato sauce and bring to a boil. Lower heat and allow meatballs to simmer for 5 minutes. Turn off heat and keep warm on stove. Be careful not to overhandle the meatballs since they are soft and fragile.
• In a large pot, bring to a boil 6 quarts of salted water. Add pasta and cook until al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain pasta in a colander. Do not rinse pasta with water since you want to retain the pasta natural starches so that the sauce will cling to the penne.
• Remove meatballs from sauce and place in serving bowl. Pour some tomato sauce over meatballs, but leave about 1 cup of sauce in skillet. Place the cooked penne into the skillet with the remaining sauce and toss well. Pour sauced pasta into a large serving bowl. Serve alongside the meatballs.
• In a large casserole pot, heat oil over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until soft and translucent, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add celery and carrots and season with salt and pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 5-10 minutes. Add tomatoes and bay leaves and simmer uncovered on low heat for 1 hour or until thick. Remove bay leaves and check for seasoning. If sauce still tastes acidic, add unsalted butter, 1 tablespoon at a time to round out the flavors. Add half the tomato sauce into the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth. Continue with remaining tomato sauce. If not using all the sauce, allow it to cool completely and pour 1 to 2 cup portions into freezer plastic bags. This will freeze up to six months.

TURKEY MEATBALL PASTA BAKE

Steps:

• In a large suacepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; cook for 5-6 minutes or until onion is tender. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, parsley, Italian seasoning, sugar and salt. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat. Set aside.
• Preheat oven to 350. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminim foil. Place a cooling rack over pan. Spray rack with nonstick cooking spray.
• In medium bowl combine turkey, panko, green onion, bell pepper, egg, garlic, parsley, Italian seasoning and salt. Shape into golf ball sizeballs; place on prepared rack. Bake 15-17 minutes or until lightly browned. Set aside.
• Lightly grease a 13 x 9" baking dish.
• In a large bowl combine hot cooked pasta, cream cheese and sour cream, stirring to combine. Spoon half of mixture into baking dish. Top evenly with half of meatballs. Spon half of Zesty Tomato Sauce over meatballs. Sprinkled evenly with mozarella cheese. Repeat procedure with remaining noodles, meatballs and sauce. Sprinkly evenly with Parmesan cheese. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Garnish with fresh parsley if desired.
• Serve immediately.