Sharing Plate – Your Cooking Coach |

My daughter was having a sleepover and she was extremely excited to have her friend sleep in her new full sized bed. She wanted me to make spaghetti and meatballs for dinner.

I started thinking how to make them since I wanted to do something different with them. 

I went to Whole Foods to look for some dark meat turkey meat and maybe some pork as well. I found the turkey meat but couldn’t get the pork- so I decided to just use the turkey. I also saw lots of zucchini and squash piled up everywhere. I decided to add some grated zucchini to the meatballs.

I came home and mixed the meat with the usual meatball ingredients- eggs, breadcrumbs, salt and my secret ingredient- pesto. I love using pesto in everything- it is an instant flavor booster. It already has the garlic, basil, cheese and the pine nuts. I also added the grated zucchini in there and crossed my fingers. I formed the meatballs and added them gently into the bubbling tomato sauce. I like cooking my meatballs in the sauce- the meat flavor gets into the sauce and makes it delicious. The meatballs had perfect texture- soft on the inside, firm on the outside. They were delicious but there was some evidence of the green stuff- I thought the kids will look at them and say, “what did you put in them”??

Well, I was asked no such question- they loved it. They ate up everything I gave them and asked for seconds. I was thrilled- definitely make this for you kids- they won’t know what is lurking in the delicious meatballs…

• 1 pound ground dark meat turkey
• 1/3 cup prepared pesto
• 1 cup grated zucchini
• 2 eggs, beaten
• ¼ cup breadcrumbs
• 2 teaspoons salt

• 3 cups homemade or store bought tomato sauce
• 2 tablespoons extra light olive oil
• 1 small onion, minced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• ½ pound whole-wheat spaghetti, al dente

In a large mixing bowl, add the turkey meat, pesto, zucchini, eggs, breadcrumbs and salt. Mix well with fingertips and keep aside for an hour.

In the meantime, in a large saucepan, heat the olive oil. Add the onion and garlic. Saute on medium heat for a couple of minutes and add the tomato sauce. Cook on medium heat for 5-6 minutes and turn it down to a simmer.
Form medium sized meatballs and begin adding to the simmering sauce. Once all the meatballs are formed, cook on medium heat for 20 minutes.

Serve on top of al dente spaghetti.