Turkey Meatballs

Turkey Meatballs

  • Turkey
  • 4
  • 55 minutes
  • Easy
This dish is a beautiful balance of tender, juicy turkey meatballs paired with a vibrant, tangy sweet sauce that wakes up the palate. The meatballs are moist and flavorful, seasoned with garlic, onion, paprika and cumin to highlight the lean, delicate taste of turkey. They’re lightly browned, giving them a satisfying golden crust that locks in all the juices. The sauce is a glossy, dual toned glaze made from tart cranberries simmered with orange juice and sweetened with a good rich honey and has a playful kick of heat from slices of fresh chilli. The result is a sauce that’s sweet, spicy, and citrusy all at once, coating each meatball in a bold, festive sheen. Perfect for popping on sticks if you’re having a buffet, or serving with buttery rice and a side of your favourite greens for dinner.

Ingredients

 Turkey Meatballs 

  • 1lb turkey leftover meat, minced
  • 1 small onion, very finely chopped
  • 40g breadcrumbs, dampened with 2 tablespoons water
  • 2 tablespoons dried parsley
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon of black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1 egg

Cranberry-Orange Sauce

  • 400g frozen cranberries
  • 125 ml water
  • 125 ml orange juice
  • 125 ml honey
  • 1-2 chill's, sliced very fine 

To Garnish

  • 1 Spring onion, sliced fine
  • Fresh coriander leaves
  • Fresh chilli slices

Method

  1. Remove the leftover turkey meat from the bone if needed. Using a food processor give the meat a quick blast until you get a fine mince texture.
  2. In a large bowl mix together all of the ingredients for the meatballs, then form around 20 - 1 inch circle balls. Add a tablespoon of water to bind if needed.
  3. In a large frying pan heat up around 2 tablespoons of oil, gently fry the meatballs until beautiful and golden on all sides. Then, with a slotted spoon remove from the pan and leave to rest on a plate while you make the sauce.
  4. In the same frying pan add the cranberries, orange juice, water and chilli slices. Cook gently until all of the cranberries have popped and the sauce starts to thicken almost to a jam-like consistency. Sweeten with the honey.  Then return the meatballs to the sauce - making sure to coat them in the delicious sauce and continue to cook the meatballs for a further 10 minutes until heated through. The sauce will be lovely and thick,  if it gets too thick, simply slacken with a splash of water or orange juice.
  5. Sprinkle with fresh coriander, chilli and spring onion and serve. We think that this will quickly become a family favourite!

Enjoy x

Recipe courtesy of @Stephs_food_diaryÂ