SWEET-and-SOUR Turkey Meatballs with BROWN RICE

Amarante

Wed, Nov 13 2019, 1:29 pm

This was easy and pretty much one dish (there's even a zucchini hidden in the meatballs Very Happy

) although I supplemented with a green salad

SWEET-and-SOUR Turkey Meatballs with BROWN RICE

Excerpt From: Carla Snyder. “One Pan, Whole Family.

This classic dish gets mom’s seal of approval—it combines ground turkey with zucchini and is served over healthy brown rice—and it still has the irresistible sweet-and-sour flavors kids of all ages really love. At the end of the meal all you’ll see is empty plates.

START TO FINISH

45 minutes
HANDS-ON TIME
20 minutes

SERVES 4

1 zucchini
1 egg
1/4 cup [15 g] panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup [60 ml] milk (sub soy milk)
1 lb [455 g] ground turkey - I used the all white meat ground turkey breast
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 onion
2 carrots
1 green bell pepper
1 green onion
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 cups [480 ml] chicken broth
One 15-oz [425 g] can tomato sauce
One 8-oz [227-g] can crushed pineapple with juice
1/4 cup [50 g] brown sugar
1/4 cup [60 ml] cider vinegar
1/4 cup [65 g] ketchup
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 cup [130 g] instant brown rice

1. Grate the zucchini into a large bowl (you should have about 1 cup [225 g]). In a small bowl, beat the egg slightly and add it to the zucchini. Add the panko and milk to the zucchini and let sit for a minute so the panko soaks up the milk. Add the turkey, 1/2 tsp salt, and a few grinds of pepper and mix gently with your hands. Be careful not to overmix or the meatballs with be dense and tough. Shape into golf ball-size meatballs and set aside on a large plate.

2. On a large cutting board, chop the onion, peel and thinly slice the carrots, and thinly slice the bell pepper, and set aside in one pile. Thinly slice the green onion and transfer it to a small bowl.

3. Heat a 12-in [30.5-cm] skillet over medium-high heat and add the olive oil. When the oil shimmers, add the onion, carrots, and pepper to the pan along with a sprinkle of salt and a few grinds of pepper. Cook until the vegetables begin to soften, about 4 minutes. Stir in the broth, tomato sauce, pineapple, brown sugar, vinegar, ketchup, and Italian seasoning and bring to a boil. Nestle the meatballs into the sauce, cover, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer the meatballs for 5 minutes. Gently stir the rice into the mixture and simmer until the rice is cooked and the meatballs are tender, about 15 minutes.