Ask Dear Gaby

I love meatballs made with ground beef, pork, and veal.  My mother use to make them exactly that way.  To the meat, she would add day old bread made into bread crumbs,  fresh Italian parsley,  freshly grated cheese , eggs, salt and pepper.  Than she would brown them in olive oil and finish cooking them in her homemade tomato sauce.

Then in an effort to make Italian meatballs healthier and of course avoid the beef, I saw recipes using ground turkey instead of beef, veal and pork.  Not quite the same as the real thing– but they were pretty good.  Now I have taken it a step further to provide more flavor but not the additional calories. Pignoli Nuts (Pine Nuts)  is a very traditional ingredient for Meatballs from Napoli.  They  add incredible flavor and texture to the meatballs.

Ingredients

1. Equal parts of Ground Turkey Breast, Ground Turkey Dark meat, and Lean Ground Sirloin
2. Egg Whites (equivalent of 1 egg) per pound of ground meat
3. 1/4 cup Freshly Grated Parmigiano Cheese per pound of ground meat
4. 2 cloves of fresh garlic finely minced per pound of ground meat
5. 2 tbs of Fresh Flat Leaf Italian Parsley chopped
6. 2 tbs of Pignoli Nuts (Pine Nuts)
7. Day Old Bread (about 1/2 baguette per pound of ground meat), crusts removed, dried, and soaked in warm water; Squeeze  the bread to remove the water and leave bread moist.
8. Sea Salt to taste
9. Ground pepper to taste
10. Olive Oil

In a large bowl, combine  the ingredients, 1 through 9,  together,  using your hands.  Form into little meatballs about 2 inches in diameter.   Heat up the olive oil in pan over medium heat.  When the olive oil is hot, add the meatballs, turning occasionally in order to brown on all sides.  Than lower heat, and cook meatballs for about 10 minutes more or until cooked all the way through.   Freeze or serve with your favorite tomato sauce.

          

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