TURKEY COCONUT CURRY
Comfort in a bowl, all while remaining *healthy.*
4 servings, 1 hour
Ingredients:
Turkey Meatballs:
1 lb ground turkey (or chicken)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp fresh ginger, minced
1/2 tsp red chili flakes, can use fresh peppers if desired
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp fish sauce
Optional: sesame oil
Curry:
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp fresh ginger
2 tbsp red curry paste
1 can coconut milk
1 cup vegetable or chicken stock
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 lime, for juice and zest
4 cups spinach
1 handful of fresh basil leaves
The Blistered Peppers Take:
When it comes to meatballs, we all normally gravitate toward meatballs and spaghetti - a classic. And, you’re right. When you’ve got a great Italian meatball, sometimes there’s nothing better. But, meatballs, overall, are such a great way to play with different proteins - pork, beef, veal, chicken, turkey, and even salmon balls can help you bring a new, creative and easy meal to the table any night.
Today we’re cooking ground turkey and infusing some really delicious Thai flavors starring one of my favorite spices, red curry, to take dinner to another level. I love to play around with different flavored meatballs on a weeknight, because it's a really fast way to get dinner on the table - especially on days when it feels like time is non-existent. Bake them, saute them, fry them, they’re going to be good no matter what cooking method you choose. What will take the most time is, mincing the garlic and the ginger - and for that I always turn to my favorite microplane, which makes mincing any root (or cheese) even easier. All you’re doing here is, dumping the ingredients into a bowl, mixing, and rolling into balls. Be sure you don’t over mix the turkey because it’ll make for a bit of a tougher ball. I’m sure you hear this a lot and roll your eyes at it, but it’s totally true, I swear.
Curry - something I started to play with over the past few years. Because curries are some of my go-tos in the Winter, I don’t know why but it’s all I crave. When ordering Thai or Indian dishes, I marvel at the flavors and always wanted to figure out how to recreate that intensity. Something to note is that there are several curries. So, make sure you grab the right thing. There are liquid curries, powdered curries, pre-made curries, and curry pastes. They also come in different colors, which create different tastes. Don’t forget to grab the red curry paste here - otherwise this dish completely changes. Interesting piece of info - curry paste originated in Thailand, while curry powder originated by the British, but was then used and became most popular in India. I know, it’s worldly.
Change up your dinner plans this week and make yourself a pot of these turkey meatballs. Let me know what you think. Do you prefer Thai flavors or Indian flavors? Did you substitute chicken for turkey?
Tell. Me. Everything! Serve alongside your favorite rice - it would pair amazingly well with my coconut rice (scroll and you’ll find it). Tag me in your pics. Enjoy!
Steps:
If you haven’t already done so, mince the garlic and grate the ginger for the meatballs.
In a medium bowl, add the turkey, garlic, ginger, chili flakes, salt, pepper, and fish sauce, and mix well until combined. Using a spoon and wet hands (or gloves), form about 10 meatballs and place them on a parchment lined plate or baking sheet.
In a large and deep pan, on medium heat, add a bit of olive oil - or sesame oil - and cook the meatballs for about 3-4 minutes on each side. The meatballs will not be cooked through, set aside.
While the meatballs cook, mince the remaining garlic, grate the ginger and lime zest, and dice the onion.
Using the same large pan that the meatballs were cooked in, add olive oil and the diced onion. Cook on low-medium heat for about 5 minutes until onions are translucent. Add the curry paste, garlic, ginger, and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the coconut milk, stock, zest, and fish sauce. Stir to combine. Add the meatballs and cover the pan so the sauce can simmer and thicken while the meatballs cook. Stir occasionally. After about 20 mins the meatballs are cooked thru and the sauce has thickened - add ½ cup of water if the curry is too thick
Remove from the heat and stir in the spinach and a bit of basil/cilantro if using.
Serve alongside a cup of white rice, top with lime juice, basil and enjoy!
