These kotleti were formed into patties and cooked on a pan till the outside was crispy. Instead of eating them on a bun, we had them with mashed potatoes, rice, pasta or buckwheat.
My mom, however, did make ezhiki. Say what? In Russian it means little hedgehogs. These were mini meatballs made with beef and rice and usually added to the soup. Meatballs & spaghetti wasn't something I discovered till my family moved to the States.
In the last 18 years, I've tried beef, pork, chicken and turkey meatballs. I've had them over rice, on top of salads, both in tomato or cheese based sauces and of course with spaghetti.
This time I'd like to share with you a recipe for Spicy Turkey Meatballs I came up with. If you are still feeling eeffie about turkey, feel free to use ground chicken.
Ingredients (makes about 23 meatballs)
olive oil for cooking
1 pound ground turkey
2 chipotle in adobo peppers, seeds removed, finely chopped
2 Laughing Cow Cheese Light Mozzarella Sundried Tomato wedges
16 basil leaves, chopped (Thanks, Sylvie)
2 garlic cloves, minced
salt & pepper
1/4 red onion, chopped finely
Directions
1. Combine all ingredients together other than olive oil.
2. Form uniform meatballs.
3. Heat olive oil in a nonstick pan. Add meatballs and cook them till they are browned all around and are cooked through. This should take about 10-12 minutes total.
Alas, I could not really taste the cheese. The chipotle in adobo sauce, however, really shined through and gave these meatballs a nice kick!
What do you add into your meatballs?
Sad that you couldn't taste the cheese... that sounded like such a great addition!
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't recommend using olive oil to brown the meatballs in. The flashpoint of olive oil is relatively low compared to other oils, and as such produces damaged fats.
ReplyDeleteThese looks scrumptious!!! I'm sure chipotle mus have added nice kick and flavor to it.. May be you cannot taste the cheese but I feel cheese will definitely add richness and smoothness to the texture. Thank you so much for stopping by at my blog, it really means alot I have been reading your blog for such a long time and you are truly inspiring.
ReplyDelete@Anonymous - You are correct that olive oil has a low smoke point and therefore would be a poor choice for deep frying, but it is implied here in the instructions and in the final picture that the recipe calls for pan-frying, which is generally done at a lower temperature and Extra Light olive oil would be appropriate for that. It would also be healthier than peanut oil and tastier than Canola oil.
ReplyDeleteThese look delicious!Love all the ingredients!
ReplyDeleteYum. I think I might try this with beans. Probably white beans? I'll need to play with the proportions, but the other ingredients sound amazing. I am getting hungry (which is why I should not read your blog before lunch!).
ReplyDeleteWow these meatballs look fantastic!! Love your blog and so glad to be a new follower! xoxo
ReplyDeleteI'm a fan for any kind of meatballs!
ReplyDeleteI love how you've combined basil and cheese with chipotle peppers!
ReplyDeleteOh man. These look incredible. I think they'd be awesome on a hoagie with melted mozzarella... I'm drooling.
ReplyDeleteSurprised that the cheese didn't provide more flavor, but not surprised that these were still a hit! And, I really like turkey meatballs :). xoxo
ReplyDeleteThis is wonderful....did not think I would like ground turkey....I used chipotle seasoning instead of the peppers....delicious!
ReplyDeletehi! Thank you so much for letting me know. Great you put your own spin on the recipe.
ReplyDeleteYummy. I think I"m going to make some meatballs this weekend.
ReplyDelete