Ah the classic childhood favorite, meatballs! We all love them, but we get so bored of them, don’t we? I’m always trying to reinvent the classic meatball, whether it’s quick and easy lazy beef meatballs, melt-in-your-mouth veal meatballs, or even baked chicken meatballs, there’s something for everyone. One thing I hadn’t tackled yet is turkey meatballs.
Now when KOL Foods sends you 100% pasture raised ground turkey, you can’t just make any meatball. You gotta be good to your meat (or in this case, poultry) and make sure it doesn’t dry out! And that my friends, can only be done with REAL bread. Yes, real, organic, GMO-free poultry deserves only the best, so mass-produced dry breadcrumbs just doesn’t cut it. Soaking the bread in almond milk creates a wet binder to keep the turkey super moist. Say goodbye to the dry, bland turkey balls of your past because KOL turkey is about to change your meatball horrors forever!
Now the perfect, moist turkey ball can’t just swim in boring old marinara either. I had to up the ante on that too, starting with a Casa Del Cielo Cabernet reduction from kosherwine.com. You can’t go wrong with cabernet now can you? The red wine reduction gives the marinara a great depth of flavor, and the addition of cranberry sauce just brings everything together for a thick and rich sauce.
It’s not every day that I spike my marinara with cabernet, but KOL is hosting a special Rosh Hashanah Cooking with Wine contest, and I created this recipe in it’s honor! They’ve got a whole roundup of recipes featuring different wines from kosherwine.com, so head on over to the contest page to check them out! You can also enter their GIVEAWAY to win $150 gift certificates to KOL Foods and KosherWine.com! Click here to enter!
Can you believe someone is already having a Rosh Hashanah giveaway? Are the high holidays really just around the corner?! {Insert Meltdown}… Bring on the kosher wine ‘cuz I’m going to need a few glasses!
Speaking of the holidays and wine, I’ve got plenty of boozy recipes on the blog, like this mulled wine cranberry sauce, cherries in red wine syrup, and my very first blog post ever (!!) chicken with port wine cherry sauce. This honey roasted za’atar chicken with red wine and dried fruit is my favorite Rosh Hashanah dish, and these Moscato poached apricots make the most of the summer fruit before they go out of season.
Whether you’re cooking with wine this holiday or not, we can all use a glass or two (or three), especially with the month-long cookfest that’s coming up soon, so lets raise a glass…L’chaim!
Turkey Meatballs with Red Wine Cranberry Marinara
Enter the Cooking with Wine Giveaway to win $150 worth of grass-fed meat/poultry from KOL Foods or $150 to spend at KosherWine.com!
for the meatballs:
1.5 lbs. KOL Foods ground turkey
3 cups bread, cut into cubes (use bread that is at least a day old)
1/2 cup almond milk
1/4 cup chopped parsley
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 egg
kosher salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 cup pine nuts, optional
3 tbsp olive oil
for the red wine cranberry marinara:
1 medium onion, diced small
1/3 cup dried cranberries or cherries
1 cup Casa Del Cielo cabernet sauvignon
1 15oz. can tomato sauce
1 cup whole berry cranberry sauce
1/2 tsp allspice
juice of 1/2 lemon
kosher salt and pepper, to taste
Method:
In a small bowl, soak the bread in almond milk until wet and squeeze to remove most of the milk.
In a large bowl, combine the turkey, bread, egg, garlic, parsley, pine nuts (optional), salt and pepper. Mix with your hands to incorporate.
Using wet hands, form the mixture into small meatballs. If the meatballs start to stick to your hands, just rinse your hands again with water.
Heat a large skillet with oil and brown the meatballs in batches, so that they are golden on all sides. Set the meatballs aside.
In the same pan, add the onion and saute until golden (add more oil if needed). Add the dried cherries and wine and bring the mixture to a boil. Cook until the wine is reduced by half. Add the remaining sauce ingredients, stirring to combine, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
Add the meatballs to the sauce and simmer for 30 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked through and glazed with sauce. Serve immediately.
NOTE: if you like a lot of sauce with your meatballs, you may double the sauce recipe.
TIP: If your sauce gets too thick, add a bit of water to thin it out.
This post is sponsored by KOL Foods & kosherwine.com. All opinions are my own.
Related Recipes:
melt-in-your-mouth veal meatballs
2-ingredient lazy meatballs
baked chicken meatballs
Looks wonderful!!
My kids love meatball and I love how the sauce dresses it up fancy
I’ve never made turkey meatballs before but this makes me want to try!
Can I freeze these?
I’m not a big “freezer” person but meatballs usually freeze well.