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Saturday, February 21, 2009

Florentine Turkey Meatballs

I've always liked this recipe for Florentine Turkey Meatballs. I've been craving spinach so when I was planning the menu this week I put them on it.


The recipe I used, from 365: Everyday with Rachael Ray, called for 2 packages of ground turkey so I ended up with leftover meatballs and sauce, which I froze for later. I served the meatballs over egg noodles tossed with butter. A delicious, easy meal.

Florentine Turkey Meatballs
Rachael Ray

1 box frozen spinach, defrosted in the microwave
1 1/3 pound (1 package) ground turkey breast
1 medium onion, finely chopped, divided
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 large egg
1 ¾ cups milk, divided
¾ cup bread crumbs, 3 handfuls
½ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, 2 palm fulls
Coarse salt and black pepper
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup chicken stock
1 (10-ounce) sack shredded provolone or blend of Italian cheeses, available on dairy aisle
½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg, eyeball it
¼ cup parsley leaves, chopped
Egg noodles, cooked and tossed with butter

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Wring defrosted spinach dry in a clean kitchen towel. Place turkey in a bowl and make a well in the middle of it. Add the spinach, all but 3 tablespoons of the onion, all of the garlic, 1 large egg, about 1/4 cup milk, bread crumbs, grated Parmesan, salt and pepper. Mix well. Form into 12 large balls and drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil. Arrange on a nonstick cookie sheet and roast 20 minutes, or until cooked through.

While balls are in the oven, heat a small sauce pot over medium heat. Add a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil and 2 tablespoons butter. Melt butter, add remaining finely chopped onion and cook 2 minutes then whisk in flour. Cook flour 1 minute, then whisk in 1 1/2 cups milk and 1 cup stock. Bring liquid up to a boil then stir in shredded provolone or blended Italian cheeses. Season the sauce with salt, pepper and nutmeg, turn heat to lowest setting.

Place egg noodles on a plate. Top with meatballs and sauce, garnish with parsley.

6 comments:

  1. Hi- I have been eyeballing this recipe of Rachael Rays for a while now. I will have to try it. It looks great and nice to know you enjoyed it. Love your blog here.. your choices of food seem similar to my taste:)

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  2. I've made these a few times. It does make a lot, but it's great to make & freeze half. I even like the meatballs plain. The spinach makes them really moist.

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  3. Do you use fresh spinach or frozen? I would like to try some frozen spinach but the way it's sold in blocks just freaks me out and I wonder if it just cooks out normally. Those meatballs look really delicious.

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  4. Katie - Frozen spinach is a fantastic product! Seriously, the amount of fresh spinach you would need to equal the amount of frozen is amazing. Spinach cooks way, way down so the blocks of spinach are actually a great bargain. And it's just frozen...it cooks up perfectly fine. Just make sure you put it in a clean kitchen towel after you defrost it and wring out the excess water.

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  5. The meatballs are huge! What a great feast!

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