Spinach Turkey Meatballs

Turkey meatballs are a great source of protein, AND you can flavour them up exactly how you want!

You'll hear me say this dozens of times but marinate, marinate, marinate!! That is the KEY.

I like my meatballs to be juicy and full of flavour and spice, so when it comes to seasoning the mince, it's all hands in! You gotta get down and dirty for the good stuff ;)

The technique for meatballs is basically the same for burgers - you just don't flatten them out into patties, but instead roll them into balls instead. Again, I like to use chopped red onion to seal the meat together, particularly for Turkey as it is quite dry.

Of course, as with most of my recipes, you don't need to follow each ingredient to a tee. If you'd prefer to skip some as it isn't what you like then feel free, or you can adjust the amount instead.

Here's a useful tip for rolling the meatballs: keep a small bowl of water handy. When you come to rolling the balls, wet your palms then take the meat and rolls. This is prevent it from sticking to your hands, and subsequently form smoother, rounder meatballs!

INGREDIENTS (serves 3-4):

• 500g turkey mince

• 1/2 red onion - finely chopped

• 2 tbsp coriander + 1 handful for garnish - finely chopped

• 1 tsp coconut oil

• 2 tbsp minced garlic (or garlic paste)

• 1 1/2 tbsp minced green chillies (or chilli paste) - adjust according to how spicy you want it.

• 1 tbsp minced ginger

• 1 1/2 tsp salt

• 1 tsp turmeric

• 1 1/2 tsp coriander cumin powder

• 1 tsp garam masala

• 350g passata

• 2 handfuls spinach - minced or finely chopped

RECIPE:

1. In a large mixing bowl, add in your turkey mince and gently separate into smaller chunks with a wooden spoon.

2. Add in your onion, garlic, green chillies, ginger, 1 tsp salt, turmeric, 1 tsp coriander & cumin powder, 1/2 tsp garam masala, 2 tbsp coriander and spinach. Mix in well with your hands using a one handed kneading motion (wear disposable gloves).

3. Once you're happy that all of the ingredients have mixed in together, you want to start making your meatballs - find a plate to put your rolled meatballs onto for the time being.

4. Coat your palms in a little water then take a handful of meat and roll into golf ball size balls, ensuring there's minimal cracks and they're nice and smooth. Repeat this until you've used up all of the meat.

5. At this point you can dispose of your gloves. In a large pan, heat your oil on high heat, ensuring it covers as much of the pan as possible. Turn the heat down to low-medium, then one by one add in you meatballs, ensuring not to put them too close together otherwise they will stick to one another. If you haven't got enough space for all of your meatballs you can either cook them in a separate pan or pop them in an airtight container and keep in the freezer for when you want them!

6. Cover with the lid and allow the meatballs to cook on low heat, turning them over every 2 minutes to ensure they cook evenly, however try to avoid allowing them to get too brown on the outside.

7. Once the meatballs are fully cooked, add in the passata, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp coriander cumin powder and 1/2 tsp garam masala. Stir gently then cover again and allow all of the flavours to simmer and mix together for about 5 minutes.

8. Sprinkle in some coriander and garam masala then cover again and leave to simmer for a couple of minutes.

9. Stir well then garnish with coriander before serving. Enjoy with some chapati, rice or pasta/spaghetti!

NUTRITIONAL INFO (per serving - based on 4):

222 kcal

7.1g carbs

2.9g fat (1.4g saturated)

40.7g protein

3.5g sugar