Turkey meatballs with tomato sauce

Ingredients

For the sauce

• 1 onion, finely diced
• 2 sticks celery, diced
• 40ml (2 tbsp) olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
• 2 x tins (400g) diced tomatoes
• 250ml (1 cup) water

For the meatballs

• 500g turkey mince
• 1 egg
• 1 cup wholemeal breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup parmesan, freshly grated
• 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley and thyme (a mixture)
• 5ml (1 tsp) Worcestershire sauce
• 4 slices sourdough bread
• 1 clove garlic and olive oil to drizzle

Method

To make the sauce, cook the onion and celery in a large saucepan with the olive oil over medium-to-low heat. Stir until soft and translucent. Add the garlic and continue for to cook for 1 minute.

Add the herbs, tomatoes, the water and season. Reduce heat to a simmer. Cook, stirring, every now and then for about 5 minutes.

To make the meatballs, combine all ingredients in a large bowl and very gently bring together. Don‰Ûªt over-mix or they might become a bit dense and heavy. Roll into golf ball sized balls and set aside on a board lined with baking paper. Drop them gently into the sauce and let simmer for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile toast the bread, cut the garlic clove in half,åÊ rub over bread and drizzle with olive oil.

Test one to make sure it is cooked through then serve with the garlic toast.

Note

• The best part of this recipe (apart from the yummy end result) is that you don‰Ûªt need to brown the meatballs prior to submerging them into the mellow, tomato sauce.
• You can make the tomato sauce ahead of time and just pop the meatballs in to cook when you are ready.
• This recipe was created by Sophie Hansen for Kidspot, New Zealand’s beståÊrecipe finder:åÊYou can follow Sophie onåÊLocal is Lovely,åÊFacebook,åÊTwitteråÊoråÊPinterest.