Turkey-Feta Meatballs with Lemon Cream Sauce
Turkey-feta meatballs with lemon cream sauce are one of those lazy Sunday afternoon meals. I crafted this for my health-conscious husband who was couching it for the first day of football. Go Buccaneers! Cream sauce sounds decadent, but a little goes a long way. The meatballs are soft and luxurious with little pockets of melted feta, chunks of pepper and onion, so you just need a little of the bright, white sauce studded with lemon zest.
I start by dicing peppers and onions and giving them a quick saute in some olive oil. Just long enough for them to soften.
While they are cooking, I add a pound of ground turkey to a mixing bowl along with the feta, bread crumbs, milk and beaten eggs.
Tip: An Italian lady at my favorite local Italian restaurant told me the secret to her very moist meatballs was to soak the bread crumbs in milk before mixing. This allows the meatballs to steam from the center she said. It works!
Once the vegetables are done, I add them to the mix and hand blend it. Before I start forming the meatballs, I coat my hands with olive oil. This keeps the meat mixture from sticking to my hands and allows me to create a smooth meatball. The size is up to you, but I like to keep mine about and inch and a half in diameter when frying. This way they cook through but don't get too dark.
While they cook in the pan, I turn to the gorgeous yellow cherry tomatoes I picked up from A Plus Produce at Broad Street Farmers Market. These will be perfect to top off this beautiful plate.
Once the meatballs are done, I pull them from the pan and let them rest on a plate while I prepare the sauce. It's a really simple version of a white sauce using cornstarch instead of flour. Warm the cream in a saucepan. When heated, I add a slurry of cornstarch and milk to thicken. Stirring constantly and adding lemon zest and juice from a lemon. Salt and pepper to taste and it's done! Serve over pasta!
