Turkey Meatballs with Spaetzle and White Wine Sauce

Major comfort food alert! This was created out of a need to use up yet again more leftover ground Turkey and wanting to do something different with the protein. I just started throwing things together that I had in my pantry and voila, this came about, it ended up being kind of a long recipe, but oh so worth it! So get your mise en place going and get ready to not leave the kitchen, since your are going to want eat it standing over the counter, oh ya, for good food!

I thought I had a picture, but sadly I can't find it and it was so pretty too! So here is a Pic of me and my bestie at San Antonio Winery, hey I am using white wine so it works.

Serves 2

1/4lb of Ground Turkey (93/7 Lean)

A few dashes Worcestershire Sauce

Handful of Quick Cook Oats

1 Tsp Tomato Paste

1 Dinner Roll, but any kind of day old bread will do, going for the amount you need

1/2 Cup Milk

1/2 A Large Zucchini

2 Slices of a Large Onion

6-7 Med White Button Mushrooms

A Good Glug of White Wine

1Tbls Corn Starch

1/2 if of a small Seedless Cucumber

Garlic Salt

Ground Black Pepper

Ground Chili

Ground Nutmeg

2 Stamens of Saffron(opt)

4 good Handfuls of Spaetzle(German Egg Pasta)

Olive Oil 

Butter

Put a pot of water on to boil and season with table salt, once boiling add in the spaetzle and cook according to package direction

Crumble Dinner roll or bread into a small bowl and add 1/4cup of the milk to it and let sit for 5 min.

Finely dice 1 slice of onion and a quarter of the zucchini, heat about a Tbls of Olive Oil and very small cube of butter in a large non-stick pan until butter is just melted. add onion and zucchini and cook until the onion is translucent and the zucchini is just slightly brown.

Slice the remaining zucchini itno half moons and the 2nd slice of onion should be cut in half and the mushrooms thinly sliced, then set aside for later.

Slice your cucumber on the bias(diagonally) shingle them, then slice lengthwise to form julienne cuts, set aside.

When veggies are done, squeeze milk from the roll and add to a medium bowl along with the Turkey, the cooked veggies, oats, slightly crushed with your hand, Worcestershire Sauce, tomato paste, a dash of nutmeg, garlic salt and pepper tt. Mix until just combined and jput into the fridge for about5-7 minutes to firm up a bit because the mixture will be wet.

Next form your meatballs just slightly smaller than a golf ball. Reserve a small bit to cook in the microwave so you can check to see of more seasoning is needed. When meatballs are made, put onto a plate and place in the freezer for just as long as it takes to heat another Tbsl of Olive Oil and small chunk of butter in the same large non-stick pan you used for the veggies. Once butter is slightly brown and smells nutty place meatballs into pan, make sure to leave enough spce between then so they brown instead of steam. This will take about 5-7 min on med high heat. you should have cooked your meatball in the microwave and if needed you can sprinkle more garlic salt and pepper on top of the meatballs before flipping. Once brown and crisp on one side, flip and cook for an additional 2-3 min until brown and crisp. Remove from pan and set aside. Add more oil to pan and add onions a bit of sea salt and cook on low until almost caramelized, remove and set aside. Turn heat up to me-high and cook the reserved zucchini for about a min then add the mushrooms and cook until they are just barley wilted about 2 min, add onions and deglaze with white wine, a couple of turns around the pan. If using saffron now is the time to add it along with a bit more salt and pepper. Let cook until wine is reduce by half, then add a 1/4 cup of the starchy pasta water, throw the meatballs back into the pan and nestle them into the liquid, cover with a lid and let cook for 5-6 min. Mix your leftover 1/4 cup of milk with cornstarch to form a slurry. Your pasta should be done by now, with a slotted spoon or Chinese strainer add pasta to pan with the meatballs, gently stir, then add the slurry, if it look too thick a bit more pasta water can be added to thin it out just a bit, but you want the sauce to kind of coat everything, it should only take 1-2 min to thicken.

Season your cucumber with a dash of garlic salt, pepper and chili powder.

Plate your dish with the spaetzle , veggies and sauce on the bottom, then nestle the meatballs on top and garnish with half of the cucumbers, it will give this dish a nice crunchy,  freshness. Happy cooking my friends, I know it was long recipe, my fingers and neck are now raw and soar, respectively and remember to keep it homemade.