Turkey Meatballs with Fiery Tunisian Sauce

Cook a double batch of meatballs, then freeze the extra. Top with our paleo pesto for an entirely different meal.

Turkey Meatballs with Fiery Tunisian Sauce
Photo: Andy Lyons
Prep Time:
50 mins
Bake Time:
40 mins
Total Time:
50 mins
Servings:
4
Yield:
12 meatballs

Ingredients

  • 1 egg, lightly beaten

  • cup almond meal

  • ½ cup finely chopped green onions

  • 4 cloves garlic, minced

  • ½ teaspoon sea salt

  • ½ teaspoon caraway seeds, crushed

  • ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

  • 12 ounce lean ground turkey

  • 8 ounce ground pork

  • 1 recipe Fiery Tunisian Sauce

Fiery Tunisian Sauce

  • 1 medium red sweet pepper, stemmed, seeded, and halved lengthwise

  • ¾ cup grape or cherry tomatoes

  • 2 pitted whole unsweetened dates

  • ¼ cup boiling water

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil

  • 1 tablespoon no-sugar-added tomato paste

  • 1 clove garlic, minced

  • ¼ teaspoon sea salt

  • ¼ teaspoon ground coriander

  • ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

  • teaspoon ground cumin

  • teaspoon ground allspice

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 15x10-inch baking pan with nonstick foil. In a large bowl combine first seven ingredients (through pepper). Add ground turkey and pork; mix well. Shape mixture into 12 meatballs and place in prepared baking pan.

  2. Bake 30 minutes. Spoon 2 tsp. of the Fiery Tunisian Sauce over each meatball. Bake 10 minutes more or until done (165°F). Serve meatballs with remaining sauce.

Fiery Tunisian Sauce

  1. Preheat oven to 450°F. Line a baking sheet with foil. Place pepper halves, skin sides up, and tomatoes on foil. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until pepper skins are evenly charred. Remove from oven; set tomatoes aside. Wrap foil up around pepper halves to fully enclose. Let stand until cool enough to handle.

  2. Meanwhile, in a bowl combine dates and boiling water. Cover; let stand 10 minutes. When peppers are cool enough to handle, use a small, sharp knife to peel off skin.

  3. In a food processor or blender combine undrained dates, sweet pepper, tomatoes, oil, tomato paste, garlic, salt, coriander, cayenne pepper, cumin, and allspice. Cover and process or blend until smooth, scraping sides of container as needed.

Serving Suggestion

Serve with cauliflower rice or veggie noodles.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)

412 Calories
24g Fat
14g Carbs
37g Protein
Nutrition Facts
Servings Per Recipe 4
Calories 412
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 24g 31%
Saturated Fat 5g 25%
Cholesterol 126mg 42%
Sodium 568mg 25%
Total Carbohydrate 14g 5%
Total Sugars 6g
Protein 37g
Vitamin C 47.4mg 237%
Calcium 85mg 7%
Iron 2.8mg 15%
Potassium 428mg 9%
Folate, total 35.4mcg
Vitamin B-12 0.5mcg
Vitamin B-6 0.5mg

*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

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