A Modern Mother’s Rigatoni and Turkey Meatballs

My recipe uses breadcrumbs. I like to make my own. I keep a plastic bag above the oven that is full leftover dried bread. You need to make sure that the bread is completely dry before storing it away, or it will become MOLDY. It always amazes me that my dried bread remains mold-free.

Here are my breadcrumbs, all whizzed up, and ready to use in my turkey meatball recipe.

For meatballs, which will cook quickly, I like to grate the onion. You can also finely chop.

I started putting together the recipe, only to realise that I didn’t have any Parmesan, a key ingredient. So I went across the road to Charlene’s to “borrow” some cheese. Luckily she was home.

Here are my turkey meatballs sizzling away. They need to cook for about 10 minutes.

Here’s my Simple Tomato Sauce: Onion, garlic, crushed pepper, rosemary, thyme, parsley and pasatta.

Viola! A Modern Mother’s Rigatoni and Turkey Meatballs. Yum.

A Modern Mother’s Rigatoni and Turkey Meatballs 

Ingredients:

• 60 g cup breadcrumbs
• 40 ml milk
• 400 g fresh ground turkey
• 2 small yellow onion (1 for meatballs, 1 for tomato sauce)
• 2 Tbs. fresh parsley, minced
• 1 Tbs. fresh thyme, minced
• 1  Tbs rosemary, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 egg, beaten
• 60 g grated parmesan cheese
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• Olive oil for frying
• 500 g tomato pasatta
• 1 lb. spaghetti or rigatoni

Directions:

1. Combine bread crumbs and milk in a small bowl and let stand for a few minutes.
2. In a large bowl, combine the softened breadcrumbs, ground turkey, onion (grated or finely chop), parsley, 2 cloves crushed garlic, thyme, rosemary, egg, cheese, 1 tsp. salt and the pepper. Mix with your hands. Form 12 balls about 1 and 1/2 inch in diameter.
3.  Pour oil to cover bottom of large fry pan  (about ¼ inch) and turn on medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the meatballs and cook. Turn occasionally, until browned on all sides, about 10-12 minutes. Transfer to a plate lined with kitchen roll to drain.
4. Make a simple tomato sauce: Saute chopped onion and 2 cloves crushed garlic for about five minutes (you could add a dash of crushed pepper for heat/flavor). Pour the tomato pasatta into the pan (rinse carton with a bit of water and add that too). Add 1 tsp each chopped rosemary, thyme, parsley. Simmer for 15 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Add the meatballs to the sauce and cook until heated through.
5. Cook the pasta (spaghetti or rigatoni) according to the package instructions. Drain and add the pasta to the sauce. Gently toss to combine. 

Transfer the spaghetti and meatballs to a large bowl and serve. Serves 4-6.