Turkey Meatballs with Chorizo in Tomato Sugo


So I overindulged over the weekend, which is usually standard practise but this weekend was extra-indulgent because I turned THIRTY. Yep, I'm officially an adult. NO! You can't make me!!! Ok, but really, I celebrated turning thirty by pretty much eating and drinking all weekend. Needless to say my thirty-year old body is not what it once was and I am feeling the pain of the rich food overload.

In true old-lady style I thought I would make a hearty yet healthy dinner on Monday night to sort-of balance out all the pizza, fries and cake I ate over the weekend, so putting some turkey mince to good use I make some gluten-free meatballs in a nice rich tomato sauce with some green beans on the side (and not a starchy vegetable in sight!)



You will need...
500gr turkey mince
1 large egg
1/4 cup gluten free flour such as rice or coconut flour
1 Tbsp fresh chopped basil
100gr skinned and finely diced chorizo sausage (cos the thing needs some flavour!)
1/2 a large brown onion, finely diced
salt and pepper
1 Tbsp olive oil

For the sauce
700gr bottle of tomato puree (I used Mutti brand with basil)
2 garlic cloves, crushed
extra chopped basil
some chilli if you like

Method...

  1. Heat olive oil in a non-stick saucepan, and over a low-medium heat sweat off the onion and chorizo until onion is translucent and chorizo is starting to go brown. Spoon into a bowl, leaving any excess oil in the pan (you'll thank me later)
  1. In a separate bowl, add turkey mince, egg, flour, basil and seasoning. Mix well. Add cooked onion and chorizo and combine.
  2. In the same saucepan you cooked the onion and chorizo, add the crushed garlic and let sizzle for 30 seconds, then add the tomato puree. Add about a cup of water to the bottle, swill and then pour into the saucepan. Stir well and bring to a simmer.
  3. Using two dessert spoons or an ice-cream scoop (the one with the scraper on it), portion out balls of turkey mince into the tomato sauce. The mix may be a bit wet, but it will firm up as it cooks.

  1. Once all the mince has been divided into meatballs and they are simmering away in the sauce, cover with a lid and leave to simmer for 10 minutes. Use a spoon to gently turn the meatballs and simmer on the other side for a further 10 minutes.
  2. Steam up some green vegetables, or alternately you can serve the meatballs over pasta, rice or polenta/grits. Serve hot with an extra garnishing of basil.

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