GREEK TURKEY MEATBALLS RECIPES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 420°F.
• Add all the ingredients to a large bowl and mix together thoroughly.
• Scoop out a large fistful of meat, roll it into a ball, then flatten it to form a patty around 1 ½ inches thick. Repeat with the remaining meat to make 5 large patties of equal size.
• Once the patties are formed, use your thumb to make a shallow indentation in the middle of each patty to prevent them from forming a dome as they cook.
• Set a large oven-safe nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and spray lightly with olive oil. When the skillet is hot, add the patties.
• Cook on one side for 3 to 4 minutes, until the edges are brown and seared, then flip the patties over.
• Cook for an additional minute, then place the entire skillet in the oven to cook until the internal temperature is 165°F, 9 to 11 minutes.
• You can also bake them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or aluminum foil for 8 to 10 minutes.
• Enjoy these as a burger with a toasted whole wheat bun, butter lettuce, cucumber slices, thin red onion slices (optional), sliced tomato, and a little Greek yogurt instead of mayo. Or pair a patty with salad, rice, quinoa, or even roasted vegetables!

Steps:

• For the sauce, put the onion and celery into a food processor and blitz to a mush. (Or you can chop as finely as humanly possible by hand.) Reserve 2 tablespoons of the mixture for the meatballs.
• Warm the garlic oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan or casserole, add the onion and celery mixture, along with the thyme, and cook at a moderate to low heat, stirring every now and again, for about 10 minutes.
• Add the cans of plum tomatoes, filling up each empty can with water to add to the pan. Season with the sugar, salt and pepper, stir well and let the mixture come to a bubble, then turn the heat down and simmer the sauce gently while you get on with the meatballs.
• For the meatballs, put all the ingredients for the meatballs, including the reserved chopped onion and celery, and salt according to preference, into a large bowl and gently mix together with your hands. Don’t overmix, as that will make the meatballs dense-textured and heavy.
• When all the meatball ingredients are not too officiously amalgamated, start rolling them into balls. The easiest way is to pinch out an amount about the size of a generously heaped teaspoon and roll it into a ball between the palms of your hands. Put each meatball onto a baking tray lined with baking parchment or greaseproof paper. You should get about 50 little meatballs.
• Drop the meatballs gently into the simmering sauce; I try to let these fall in concentric circles working round the pan from the outside edge inwards, in the vaguest of fashions.
• Let the meatballs simmer in the sauce for 30 minutes, or until cooked through. Serve with rice, pasta, couscous or however you so please.