Ingredients
The tomato sauce
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tins of chopped tomatoes
- 200ml of red wine
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 tsp of dried basil
- 1 big handful of fresh basil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 tbsp of tomato puree
- 1/2 tsp of sugar / honey
- Toasted pine nuts to serve
The meatballs
- 1 lb of turkey mince
- 1 tsp of cumin seeds
- 100g feta (leave this out if you want them dairy free)
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 egg
- 35g of panko bread crumbs
- Salt and pepper to taste
Method
The tomato sauce
- Finely chop the garlic and onion and add to a deep saucepan or frying pan with the olive oil and cook on a low heat until translucent
- Once the garlic and onion are cooked through, add in your tomato puree and dried basil and fry for a further minute
- Now add in your red wine and continue to cook down for 2 minutes or until reduced, then add in your chopped tomatoes
- Season your sauce with salt, pepper and add in sugar to taste
- Leave this to simmer on a low heat and reduce while you make your meatballs, stirring occasionally – you may need to add a little water during this process if it gets too thick
I prefer a smoother sauce so I like to blend mine before serving.
The meatballs
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius
- Line a large baking tray with bake proof paper and set aside
- In a large bowl, combine the turkey mince with the cumin seeds, crumbled feta and finely chopped garlic, followed by the breadcrumbs
- Whisk the egg in a separate bowl and then add to the turkey mince, and combine until it starts to thicken and gloop together
- Roll the mixture into 15-20 even balls and place on the baking tray with small even spaces between them
- Pop these into the oven for roughly 20-25 minutes until slightly golden brown and cooked through
- Once cooked, remove from the oven and place into your sauce along with a handful of fresh basil leaves.
- Allow to simmer together for a further 5-10 minutes, while you prepare your pasta/courgetti and toast your pine nuts
- If serving with courgetti, I like to lightly warm mine in a pan or blast in the microwave for 30 seconds – don’t cook it or it will go wet and soggy. If using pasta, cook to instructions
- Serve your meatballs with shaved parmesan, some toasted pine nuts and a few leaves of fresh basil