AuthorAnn Ogden GaffneyEasy, healthy spaghetti and meatballs is simply delicious. Made with turkey and chicken instead of the usual beef, the meatballs are lower in saturated fat, and have a yummy Mediterranean vibe thanks to the spices used to flavor them. They are simply delicious with tomato sauce, whether over pasta as here, or on their own. The trick is to make them just big enough for a small toothsome mouthful. Yum!
Bring a large pasta pot full of water to a boil. Salt to taste. Cover and turn the flame down to low.
Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over a medium high flame in a heavy skillet. Add the shallots and sprinkle with a little salt. Cook until they are just starting to caramelize, about 5 minutes. Add the scissored chives. cook 30 seconds. Turn off the heat and set aside.
Meanwhile in a large bowl beat the egg together with the ground cinnamon and cloves, white pepper and a generous pinch of salt. Tip in the warm shallots and chives along with any oil in the pan and beat in.
Tip the ground turkey and chicken into the egg mixture. With a spatula, mix and smush together until well blended. Add in the almond flour, and mix in, then add the breadcrumbs a handful at a time until the mixture is stiff.
Taking a dessert spoon, scoop out the mixture and roll into balls with your hands. You can sprinkle a little flour on your hands as you roll. Set balls aside on wax paper or a large plate. Repeat until the mixture is all used up. You will have 24-30 meat balls.
Heat the remaining oil over a medium high flame in a large heavy skillet. Fry the meatballs in batches of about 10 turning until golden on 2-3 sides, about 10 minutes. To make things go quicker, you can start doing this as soon as you have made the first 10-12 meatballs. Set aside on kitchen paper. At this point any extra can be frozen.
Meanwhile bring the pasta water to a rolling boil and put the pasta on to cook. Cook 1 minute less than recommended on the packet. Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water. Drain. Re-heat the tomato sauce. When its simmering, put in as many meatballs as you want to use. Cook 5 minutes. Add the basil, then add the spaghetti. Mix well and cook 1 minute more. Serve immediately.
Easy, healthy spaghetti and meatballs is simply delicious. Made with turkey and chicken instead of the usual beef, the meatballs are lower in saturated fat, and have a yummy Mediterranean vibe thanks to the spices used to flavor them. Simply delicious.
6 servings
- Amount per serving
- Calories305
- % Daily Value *
- Total Fat 11g15%
- Saturated Fat 2g10%
- Total Carbohydrate 39g15%
- Dietary Fiber 6g22%
- Total Sugars 6.5g
- Protein 16g
* The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
Ingredients
Directions
Bring a large pasta pot full of water to a boil. Salt to taste. Cover and turn the flame down to low.
Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over a medium high flame in a heavy skillet. Add the shallots and sprinkle with a little salt. Cook until they are just starting to caramelize, about 5 minutes. Add the scissored chives. cook 30 seconds. Turn off the heat and set aside.
Meanwhile in a large bowl beat the egg together with the ground cinnamon and cloves, white pepper and a generous pinch of salt. Tip in the warm shallots and chives along with any oil in the pan and beat in.
Tip the ground turkey and chicken into the egg mixture. With a spatula, mix and smush together until well blended. Add in the almond flour, and mix in, then add the breadcrumbs a handful at a time until the mixture is stiff.
Taking a dessert spoon, scoop out the mixture and roll into balls with your hands. You can sprinkle a little flour on your hands as you roll. Set balls aside on wax paper or a large plate. Repeat until the mixture is all used up. You will have 24-30 meat balls.
Heat the remaining oil over a medium high flame in a large heavy skillet. Fry the meatballs in batches of about 10 turning until golden on 2-3 sides, about 10 minutes. To make things go quicker, you can start doing this as soon as you have made the first 10-12 meatballs. Set aside on kitchen paper. At this point any extra can be frozen.
Meanwhile bring the pasta water to a rolling boil and put the pasta on to cook. Cook 1 minute less than recommended on the packet. Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water. Drain. Re-heat the tomato sauce. When its simmering, put in as many meatballs as you want to use. Cook 5 minutes. Add the basil, then add the spaghetti. Mix well and cook 1 minute more. Serve immediately.
