Spicy Turkey Meatballs with ”Zughetti”

I absolutely love this recipe.  The meatballs are juicy and the sauce is sweet and spicy at the same time. These meatballs are also great to serve as an appetizer or potluck- just make them on the smaller side.

• For the Meatballs:

• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

• 1 cup Onion, grated

• 3 cloves Garlic

• 2-½ pounds Lean Ground Turkey

• 1-½ teaspoon Dried Oregano

• 1 teaspoon Dried Basil

• 1 teaspoon Fresh Or Dried Parsley

• 1 whole Egg

• ¼ cups Milk

• ⅓ cups Bread Crumbs

• ½ cups Grated Parmesan Cheese

• ½ cups Onion, Finely Diced

• 2 cloves Garlic

• Olive Oil

• 1 cup Ketchup

• 1 can Tomato Paste (small Can)

• ¼ cups Red Wine Vinegar

• ⅓ cups Brown Sugar

• 1-½ teaspoon Hot Sauce

• ¼ cups Worcestershire Sauce

• ½ teaspoons Pepper

• ⅓ cups Water

• ¼ cups Onion

• 2 cloves Garlic

• 1 teaspoon Olive Oil

• 1 pinch Salt And Pepper

• 2 whole Zucchinis

• ¼ cups Fresh Chopped Parsley

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with foil and add the olive oil to coat. Move around to coat all sides.

Take the onion and garlic and grate half of it into a medium size mixing bowl. Finely dice the other half of the onion and add to the bowl. To this add the ground turkey.

Next, add the herbs and begin to combine with your hands. Crack the egg into the mix and add the milk. Blend again.

Next add the bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese and once again, blend with your hands. Season with salt and pepper.

Now you are ready to begin forming the meatballs. I like mine kind of on the small side, about the size of a walnut. As you form them, put them on your cookie sheet and repeat until all of the mixture is gone. Bake for about 20 minutes.

For the Sauce:

Finely dice the onion and grate the garlic.

In a med. saucepan, add a little olive oil and begin to saute the onions and garlic. Once they’ve cooked down a bit and become tender, add the ketchup, tomato paste, vinegar and brown sugar and whisk.

Next add the hot sauce and Worcestershire sauce and blend well. Let this simmer for about 5 minutes and add the water. Blend well and season with a little pepper. Don’t add salt as the Worcestershire sauce is quite salty.

Remove the meatballs from the oven and pour the sauce over them, making sure to coat all of them well. Allow them to cook for an additional 10 minutes.

For the “ZUGHETTI”

Finely julienne the zucchini.

Dice the onions and grate the garlic and add to a pan with the olive oil. Season the onions and garlic with a little salt and pepper and turn the heat up to med. high.

Once the pan is really hot, add the zucchini and saute for 2 minutes. You don’t want to over cook so you can have an “al dente” feel to the zucchini.

Lastly add the parsley, reserving about 1 tbsp. to garnish. With a pair of tongs, gently toss the zucchini and serve.