These meatballs are tender and juicy and have a wonderful flavor. Ralph used ground turkey instead of beef, and he pushed up the seasoning to enhance the flavors, as turkey can be fairly bland.
Sauce: Ralph's Comment:
"Use any prepared pasta sauce that you prefer - I like Trader Joe's sauces because they have less salt and taste pretty good, to which I add some red wine in the cooking process. If your sauce tastes acidic, then you may want to soften it with the addition of a little sugar, because a slightly sweet sauce is best here, with the other spices in the meat."
Ingredients:
- 1 lb. ground turkey
- 1/3 c. milk, more or less (1% milk is fine)
- 2 T. chopped garlic
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
- handful of fresh parsley, chopped fine
- 2 eggs or 1 egg/1 eggwhite or use egg substitute
- 1 tsp. each of sugar, cinnamon and freshly
- grated nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp. black pepper
- 1/2 cup - 3/4 cup mixed romano and parmegiano grated cheese (do not use already grated cheese in a can - grate from fresh cheese please!)
Mix together the eggs, breadcrumbs, sugar, spices, parsley and garlic, add milk, add the meat. Finally, add the grated cheese. Mix together and form small balls (about 1-1/2" in diameter at the most). Brown these meatballs in a little olive oil, and continue to cook them until done.
Drain the meatballs on paper towels, then add them to your sauce, continue to cook the sauce on low heat until you have a good flavor (you may add some water or red wine during this process, adjust salt/pepper etc.
Serve over pasta of your choice. It is a classic for spaghetti, but you can use penne, or whatever you like.