I had several snacks planned for my wine exchange, but I wanted one more thing that was a bit more substantial, and turkey meatballs sounded perfect.  I found this recipe from the Spring 2012 issue of Real Food, a magazine from Lund’s and Byerly’s, given to my by Nate’s mother.  I couldn’t find it on the internet to link back to, but I really didn’t change much from the original recipe.

I was hoping for a lot more flavor in these meatballs.  Unfortunately, they sort of fell flat for my taste.  I normally use extra lean ground turkey, but I though I’d use just lean ground turkey, though I feel like the meat was too heavy for this recipe.  I did bake them instead of pan frying them, and maybe not frying them in the peanut oil took away a little flavor that would have otherwise been there.  If I make these again, I would certainly add chili sauce, too, but I didn’t want to this time around since I was cooking for several other people.

Thai Turkey Meatballs

Source: Lund’s and Byerly’s
Servings:  6

Ingredients:

4 shiitake mushrooms
1 1/2 lbs ground turkey
2 tsp minced ginger
2 tsp Thai green curry paste
2 tbsp Asian fish sauce
1 tsp sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup green onions, finely chopped
1/3 cup cilantro, chopped
salt and pepper
olive oil
Asian Dipping Sauce

Directions:

1. Pour boiling water over mushrooms to cover and soak for at least 30 minutes (up to 3 hours) to soften.  Remove and discard stems and finely chop mushrooms.

2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Drizzle olive oil on baking sheet.  In a medium bowl, combine mushrooms, turkey, ginger, curry paste, fish sauce, sugar, egg, green onions, and cilantro.  Fry up a sample and taste.  Adjust ingredients as needed.  Mix until well combined and form into 1-inch meatballs.

3. Place meatballs on prepared baking sheet, and bake for 22-25 minutes, until completely cooked through.  Serve with Asian Dipping Sauce.