Pages

Monday, April 12, 2010

Baked "Broccoli Rabe, Mozzarella and Lean-Ground Turkey" Meatballs

When in need of comfort, make meatballs. So here I am with yet another version of meatballs that is as comforting as Mother's love. My strict and staunch vegetarian mom would be annoyed and unhappy that I am equating her love to Turkey Meatballs. Sorry Ma, I mean it in a the good way.
The cheese and the broccoli rabe in the meatballs act as flavor and texture enhancers.If you are a meatball lover like me and enjoy them as much as I do, check here and here for alternate choices. They all taste heavenly!
Ingredients:
  • Lean Ground Turkey - 1 1/2 pounds
  • Mozzarella - 2/3 cup, shredded
  • Broccoli Rabe - 1 bunch, cleaned
  • Garlic - 3 cloves, minced
  • Onion - 1, medium, fine diced
  • Stale Whole Wheat Bread - 2, slices, ground
  • Fennel Seed - 1 1/2 tsp
  • Crushed Black Pepper - 1 tsp
  • Egg - 1, beaten
  • Tomato-Basil Sauce - 12 ounces
  • Red Pepper flakes and salt - for taste
Procedure:
  • Chop the broccoli rabe finely and boil in hot water for 2-3 minutes. Completely drain of water and set aside on a dish.
  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
  • In a bowl, mix ground turkey,mozzarella cheese, garlic, onion, pepper, pepper flakes, salt, egg, breadcrumbs and divide them into small balls(This recipe yield 38 mid-sized balls).
  • Arrange the balls in an oven-proof dish.
  • Bake the balls for 20 minutes. 
  • In a pan, heat the Tomato-Basil Sauce and drop these balls and cook for 10 minutes.
  • Serve hot with choice of pasta.
Makes 38 mid-sized meatballs.

Note:
  • A portion of the cooked meatballs with sauce can be frozen for later.
  • Add more pepper for heat.
Enjoy!

41 comments:

  1. i love meatballs as well, but always buy them and have not yet tried making them...u make it sound so darn easy

    ReplyDelete
  2. just yam yam yammmmmmmmmyyyyyyyyyyy.............

    ReplyDelete
  3. looks delicious.
    this recipe is very new to me.liked the pic too.nice color

    ReplyDelete
  4. OMG! Turkey Meatballs look awesome! Loved the way you have presented them with Mozzarella. Looks Yummy...
    Hamaree Rasoi

    ReplyDelete
  5. Lassie..Looks yummy dear...Spaghetti and meat balls...Excellent ....Love it darlingh..

    Love
    Kairali sisters

    ReplyDelete
  6. I love meatballs! Learning new ways to enjoy them is wonderful. Thanks,

    ReplyDelete
  7. These look absolutely look deliciousa e yummy luscious ,thats a nice pic too .....

    ReplyDelete
  8. And thanxxx a ton again for ur delicious pancakes u brought for us at the party ........we loved them so muc and all could hear was....more ....more ...more

    ReplyDelete
  9. looks delicious.
    this recipe is very new to me.liked the pic too.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Those look wonderful! I love the idea of putting broccoli rabe in a meatball, sneaking in some healthy! Sounds like your feeling better!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Lovely meatballs for non veg people!! pics looks great!!

    ReplyDelete
  12. U know wat i have prepared something similar with broccoli but as vegetarian version as baked version..Looks fantastic..

    ReplyDelete
  13. Nice meat ball dish, i heard lot about brocoli Rabe. It looks yummy and tasty

    ReplyDelete
  14. I love meatballs too!!! these cheesy meat balls must be melting, soft and delicious!!! If I have some tomato basil sauce ready, I'll definitely give this a try!! lovely recipe!!!

    ReplyDelete
  15. pics look awesome, CL!!! looks nice n yumm...

    ReplyDelete
  16. These look absolutely delicious....I am drooling ...I am bookmarking it.

    ReplyDelete
  17. brocolli rabe, mozzarella and ground turkey - now thats what i call De-Li-Cious ( for me even without the turkey it is delicouS!)

    ReplyDelete
  18. I love meatballs and it is the first time I see them incorporating broccoli rabe! Cool! An idea I will remember next time!

    ReplyDelete
  19. I love the meatballs... they looks so lovely... love it.:-)

    ReplyDelete
  20. Bet you didn't know that broccoli rabe is my alltime favorite green veggie! These look and sound awesome. Such a great idea to stuff them into meatballs!

    ReplyDelete
  21. மிகவும் ஹெல்தியான சத்தான உணவு...

    ReplyDelete
  22. the meatball look so tempting to me, lovely dish, Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Very tempting meat balls..... The captures do perfect justice to the awesomely prepared prep..... I loved everything... just wondering & worrying how to get a bite of those???

    Ash...
    (http://asha-oceanichope.blogspot.com/)

    ReplyDelete
  24. Hey Cooool,,Really spaghetti with baked balls loooks coool dear..

    ReplyDelete
  25. Lassie, I have an award waiting for u in my blog please do collect it da.

    ReplyDelete
  26. These meatballs look totally scrumptious, yum!

    ReplyDelete
  27. Coool dear,,thanks for ur lovely comment on my recipe dear,,ennapa pandrathu karunanidhi avangalukku venungara maadiri maathi vekaranga,,aana en chinna vayasla irunthu intha naazhla thaan manasula pathinchuduchu maatha mudiyalai,,,anyway dear,,HAPPY TAMIZH NEW YEAR..

    ReplyDelete
  28. Meatballs looks so delicious. Yummy recipe. Thanks for sharing

    ReplyDelete
  29. Wow, these are some cool looking meatballs. Healthy and delicious. I always see Broccoli Rabe at my grocery store..but did not know what to do with it..Now I know. Beautiful Clicks.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Yummy meatballs...great recipe and pics!! Happy to be your 200th follower :)

    ReplyDelete
  31. hi lassie, how r u?...i was off from blogging from past few weeks due to heavy load of work so missed ur mny yummy recipes which u had posted..vl c thm now...hey loved this meatballs preparation...nice combo...looks so yummy n colourful...beautiful pics dear

    ReplyDelete
  32. Very healthy and such delicious meatballs...love your idea of adding broccoli rabe to this...nice way to sneak in veggies....totally awesome and yum dear :)

    ReplyDelete
  33. I love that these have fennel in them--you know it'll be good if fennel is involved :-)

    ReplyDelete

Thanks a bunch for your valuable comments and continued support.They are very much appreciated. Yes,like "Rain on Dry Land" and like "Oasis in Desert Sand".
XoXo, Cool Lassi(e)