Healthy Twist

After I moved to L.A., I stop eating red meat. But I miss some of the red meat dishes...what should I do to resemble the meat dishes without breaking "no red meat" rules?! Then, I found the taste of turkey is very similar to lean pork meat. So I started from using ground turkey. One of favorite dishes is Meat Balls. I learnt the basic French recipe of making meat balls from my good friend Estelle and transfer it to a healthy version in Provençal style.

MEDITERRANEAN LINGUINE WITH TURKEY MEAT BALL IN HOME-MADE TOMATO SAUCE

(Serves 4)

1 x 16 oz pack dried linguine

For Meat Balls:

1 x 1.25 lb. ground turkey meat (preferably the kind with dark meat in)

1 large shallot, minced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

2 tbsp fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley, finely chopped

1½ tsp Herbs de Provence

¼ cup bread crumbs

1 egg

Salt & freshly ground black pepper

2 tsp olive oil

For Tomato Sauce:

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 x 28 oz can diced tomato with juice

1 small carrot, finely diced

1 celery stalk, finely diced

2 bay leaves

½ tsp dried sweet basil

½ tsp dried oregano

1 tbsp soft brown sugar

1 tbsp olive oil

Salt & freshly ground black pepper

1 tbsp chopped fresh Italian parsley

1. Mix the ground turkey, shallot, garlic, Italian parsley, Herbs de Provence, bread crumbs, egg, salt and black pepper well in a large bowl.



2. Make about 16-24 meat balls according to your preference and place in a cookie sheet or plate. Cover with cling wrap and chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes.



3. Add 1 tbsp of olive oil in a heated saute pan at medium to medium-high heat. Saute the chopped onion, add in a small pinch of salt until soft but not brown, about 5 minutes. Add in garlic and saute for another minute. Pour in the chopped tomatoes with the juice, tomato paste, dried sweet basil, thyme, bay leaves, and water. Bring it to boil and simmer for about 20 minutes.



4. While cooking the tomato sauce, heat a non-stick skillet with 2 tsp of olive oil. Place the meat balls in the skillet and brown the surface until golden. Set aside on a plate lined with a paper kitchen towel (absorb the excessive oil).



5. When the tomato sauce is ready, add in the soft brown sugar and season with salt & black pepper. Add in the meat balls and let it to simmer for another 10 minutes until the meat balls is cooked through.



6. At the meantime, cook the pasta in salted boiling water according to the instruction on the package. Drained and serve on the plate.



7. Serves the meat balls with sauce on top of the pasta. Sprinkle the chopped Italian parsley on top.

Remarks:

• If you are a red meat lover, you can use ground beef & pork, or ground beef & veal, or ground beef & lamb.
• I would prefer to use unsalted can tomatoes because it's more easy to control the salt, especially for health conscious people.
• If you can't find shallot, you can substitute with finely chopped red onion.
• If you don't have Herbs de Provence, use Italian mix herbs.