lemongrass turkey meatballs
Excited to share one of my favorite recipes with you: Lemongrass Turkey Meatballs in Coconut Carrot Sauce. This recipe is featured in my cookbook. It’s a great healthy recipe to wow yourself + friends. Pear is used inside the meatballs, along with thai lime leaves, lemongrass, ginger, jalapeño and lots of cilantro. The spicy flavor of the meatballs is mellowed out by the sweet creaminess of the coconut carrot sauce. One of my favorite dishes from my cookbook that I hope you’ll be inspired to make.
Recipe
MAKES: 20 - 2” meatballs
TOTAL TIME: 1.5 hours
INGREDIENTS:
1 lb (500g) ground turkey
1 tablespoon (18g) lemongrass paste (or finely chopped fresh lemongrass)
2” knob (40g) of fresh ginger, about 2 tablespoons, minceds
1 large (35g) fresh jalapeño, deseeded
3 cloves (15g) fresh garlic, minced
1 small (110g) white or yellow onion
4 (2g) Makrut Thai lime leaves, stem removed
1/2 cup (40g) cilantro leaves and stems, washed
1/2 cup (170g) Asian pear, no seeds, peel is okay
1 teaspoon (5g) kosher salt
1 (50g) egg
1 cup (125g) panko breadcrumbs* (you can also use any type of gluten free breadcrumbs or almond flour for a grain free version)
1/4 cup (54g) neutral oil, such as sunflower oil
INSTRUCTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 400° F.
In a food processor, add the onion, ginger, jalapeño, Thai lime leaves, cilantro, and pear; and blend until completely combined. Pour this mixture into a large bowl. Add the turkey meat, kosher salt, egg, and breadcrumbs. Mix well with your hands. If the mixture does not come together easily, add more panko breadcrumbs.
With damp hands, mold the turkey meatballs in size of your choice (for appetizers, use a tablespoon; for the main meal, roll the balls so they are about 2” in diameter). Place balls on a cutting board.
In a large sauté pan, add 1/4 cup neutral oil and heat over high heat. Before the oil starts to smoke, add in as many balls as possible with a bit of room to move around. Turn the heat down to medium-low and use a spatula to move the meatballs around so they get browned on all sides. Transfer the lightly browned meatballs onto a silpat lined baking sheet. Do this in batches until all the meatballs are browned. Put the tray of meatballs into the preheated oven. If your meatballs are smaller, the baking time will only be about 8 minutes. If your meatballs are larger, the baking time will be about 10-12 minutes.
Serve with coconut carrot sauce and garnished with chopped cilantro.Adjust salt and pepper to taste.
ADDITIONALS:
can be up to an extra 1/4 cup of panko breadcrumbs depending on how juicy your pear and onion are.
Coconut Carrot Sauce (makes 1.5 cups) :
INGREDIENTS:
2 tablespoons (26g) olive oil
2 medium (250g) orange carrots, chopped
1 (80g) onion, diced
1 small (5g) garlic clove
1 - 5” (56g) lemongrass stalk
1” knob (7g) fresh ginger, sliced in half
1¼ cups (285g) low sodium broth— yellow in color — either vegetable broth, or chicken broth (300 ml)
½ cup (114g) full fat coconut milk (120 ml)
INSTRUCTIONS:
In a medium saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add onion and cook for 4 minutes; add garlic and carrots. Stir. Pour in coconut milk and broth. Add lemongrass and ginger. Bring to a boil, then take down to a simmer for 15 minutes or until carrots are soft.
Let cool for 10 minutes.
Fish out the lemongrass stalk and ginger slices–toss these. Using an immersion blender, blend until completely smooth.
Adjust salt and pepper to taste.
ADDITIONALS:
To achieve the swirl effect for plating, make this recipe twice in separate jars, except for one batch, use dark purple carrots instead of the orange carrots.
