Curry Turkey Meatballs

Yet another Elisa inspired dish :-) This is one that was a throw together last minute "we need to eat RIGHT NOW" dish that turned out SUPER yummy and delightlfuylly blog worthy. I like that this recipe uses turkey and outside of the coconut milk, it's really healthy. If you want to keep the calories down, you could use light coconut milk. I serve this over steamed white rice, but it would be excellent over brown rice as well.

I also served this with spinach. In a bowl, I layered the steamed rice, fresh spinach leaves, meatballs and then sauce over the top. This causes the spinach to wilt just slightly from the heat of the sauce and makes a nice little bed for the meatballs.

Ingredients:

For the meatballs:

2 Lbs ground turkey 1 leek finely chopped and divided in half, with one portion reserved for the sauce 1/2 Poblano pepper, finely chopped (you could use a jalpeno if you like a little heat) 1/2 Cup celery leaves and tender inner stalk, finely chopped Juice of 1/2 a lemon 1/3 cup panko bread crumbs 2 Cloves of garlic, crushed 2 tsp salt 1 tsp Pepper 1/3 tsp white pepper 1/2 tsp Coriander 1 tsp Bankok Blend seasoning, OR, 1/2 tsp Chinese five spice, 1/2 tsp ginger, 1/2 tsp garlic powder. 2 Tbs. Oil (Preferably peanut or vegetable)

For the Sauce:

The divided leeks from above 2 Cans of coconut Milk (can use light coconut milk) 1 1/2 tsp curry powder (I used this one) 2 Tbs Fish Sauce Juice of one Lemon 1 tsp Chicken bullion (I always prefer "Better Than Bullion") 1 tsp fresh ginger 2 Cloves of garlic, crushed Salt to taste

Directions:

1. Combine all of the ingredients in the Meatball list, except the oil. Mix them together well, but avoid overmixing, as the turkey will turn an odd pasty texture if overmixed.

2. In a large saute pan, heat the oil over medium high heat.

3. Scoop 1/4 cup sized scoops of the turkey mixture into the pan and sear them on all sides.

4. Make sure not to burn the meatballs, but do allow them to get a deep golden hue on each side as they cook.

5. Once the meatballs are browned on all sides and cooked through, remove them from the pan.

6. In the same pan, add the remaining leeks and saute until they are soft and transparent.

7. Add the remaining sauce ingredients and bring to a boil.

8. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes to allow the flavors to marry.

9. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasonings to your taste. You will most likely want to add fish sauce or lemon.

10. Once the sauce has simmered, add the meatballs back in and cook for 2-3 minutes.

11. Serve immediately and EnJoy!