Turkey Meatballs In Tomato Sauce Nigella Lawson Food

TURKEY MEATBALLS IN TOMATO SAUCE

Steps:

• For the sauce, put the onion and celery into a food processor and blitz to a mush. (Or you can chop as finely as humanly possible by hand.) Reserve 2 tablespoons of the mixture for the meatballs.
• Warm the garlic oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan or casserole, add the onion and celery mixture, along with the thyme, and cook at a moderate to low heat, stirring every now and again, for about 10 minutes.
• Add the cans of plum tomatoes, filling up each empty can with water to add to the pan. Season with the sugar, salt and pepper, stir well and let the mixture come to a bubble, then turn the heat down and simmer the sauce gently while you get on with the meatballs.
• For the meatballs, put all the ingredients for the meatballs, including the reserved chopped onion and celery, and salt according to preference, into a large bowl and gently mix together with your hands. Don't overmix, as that will make the meatballs dense-textured and heavy.
• When all the meatball ingredients are not too officiously amalgamated, start rolling them into balls. The easiest way is to pinch out an amount about the size of a generously heaped teaspoon and roll it into a ball between the palms of your hands. Put each meatball onto a baking tray lined with baking parchment or greaseproof paper. You should get about 50 little meatballs.
• Drop the meatballs gently into the simmering sauce; I try to let these fall in concentric circles working round the pan from the outside edge inwards, in the vaguest of fashions.
• Let the meatballs simmer in the sauce for 30 minutes, or until cooked through. Serve with rice, pasta, couscous or however you so please.

TURKEY MEATBALLS IN TOMATO SAUCE - NIGELLA LAWSON

Steps:

• Puree onion and celery to mush in food processor. Remove 2 tbsp of puree and set aside in a small bowl for the meatballs.
• Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat until shimmering. (If you don't have garlic oil, saute 1 thinly sliced garlic clove in 2 tbsp oil until golden brown and very fragrant, about 3 minutes; remove and discard garlic before proceeding.) Reduce to medium-low, add vegetable puree and thyme, and cook, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes.
• Add tomatoes, water, sugar, salt and pepper. Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce to a simmer and let cook while prepping the meatballs.
• Add all meatball ingredients to reserved vegetable puree. Mix gently to combine; avoid over-mixing to prevent the meatballs from being leaden and heavy.
• Form mixture into approximately 50 meatballs (each should be about one heaping teaspoon). Once all the meatballs are formed, add them to the simmering sauce. Continue to simmer 30 minutes, or until the meatballs are cooked through.

PASTA

Steps:

• Either put the flour (with the salt) in a bowl and crack the eggs into it, or make a mound of flour on a worktop and add the eggs to that. I don't bother to beat them before adding them to the flour, but if you prefer to, do. Just find the way that you prefer. All you do is mix the flour and eggs together, and then knead the mixture until it comes together in a satiny mass. Kneading involves no more than pushing the mixture away from you with the heels of your hands and then bringing it back toward you. If you've got an electric mixer with a dough hook, then use that, though for some reason I don't find it makes the pasta cohere any sooner. And you don't get the relaxing satisfaction of making it by hand.
• When the pasta is silky smooth, form it into a ball, cover with a cloth and leave for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Then get out your pasta machine, read the instructions and away you go. Two tips first: cut each slice you want to feed through the pasta machine, read the instructions and away you go. Put through the no. 1 press quite a few times, folding the strip in 1/2 and pushing it through again after each time. When the pasta dough's been fed a few times through the no. 1 slot, pass it through the remaining numbers on the gauge before pushing it through the tagliatelle-cutters. And I find that pasta strips cut into tagliatelle is better if you leave them hanging over the table or wherever to dry a little first (10 minutes is enough).
• When you cook the pasta, make sure you've got plenty of boiling, salted water and start tasting as soon as the water comes back to the boil after you've put the pasta in. Use about 1/3 of the Meatballs in their sauce to toss with the cooked, drained pasta and then pour the rest of them over the scantly sauced ribbons in the bowl. This is ambrosia: food to get you through the winter happily.
• Just put everything in a large bowl and then, using your hands, mix to combine before shaping into small balls. Place the meatballs on baking sheets or plates that you have lined with plastic wrap, and put in the refrigerator as you finish them.
• Put the onion, garlic and oregano into the processor and blitz to a pulp. Heat the butter and oil in a deep, wide pan, then scrape the onion-garlic mix into it and cook over low to medium heat for about 10 minutes. Don't let the mixture stick, just let it become soft. Add the tomatoes and then add about 3/4 cup cold water to the pan with a pinch of sugar and some salt and pepper, and cook for about 10 minutes. The tomato sauce may appear thin at this stage, but don't worry, as it will thicken a little later. Stir in the milk, and then drop the meatballs in 1 at a time. Don't stir the pan until the meatballs have turned from pink to brown, as you don't want to break them up. Cook everything for about 20 minutes, with the lid only partially covering it. At the end of cooking time, check the seasoning, as you may want more salt and a grind or 2 more of pepper.

TURKEY MEATBALLS IN TOMATO SAUCE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine cheese, bread crumbs, onion, chives, garlic, salt, pepper, oregano and red pepper flakes, if using, and mix well. Add turkey and egg and blend with your hands until well mixed. If you've got time, cover mixture and chill for an hour or up to 24 hours. These are easiest to form into balls while very cold. Form into 28 meatballs, each about 1 1/4-inches in diameter.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large sauté pan. When hot, add enough of the meatballs to fit in one layer without crowding, and brown on all sides, 5 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a plate, add another tablespoon of oil to pan and brown another layer of meatballs, transferring them to the plate as they brown. Repeat until all meatballs are browned, adding more oil to the pan as needed.
• When meatballs are all browned, add marinara sauce to pan and bring to a simmer, scraping up the browned bits on the pan bottom. Return meatballs and their juices to pan, shake pan to cover the meatballs with sauce, and lower heat. Partly cover pan and simmer until the meatballs are cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Serve hot, drizzled with more olive oil and sprinkled with more cheese, if you like.