Happy Thursday! Today I’m sharing a recipe of pure gold – turkey meatballs with an eggplant ragu and homemade spaghetti. It’s an elevated take on the traditional spaghetti and meatballs that manages to strike just the right tone of sweetness and earthiness. The melody of flavors and textures is unexpected yet classically comforting.
I do apologize for the lack of quality images in this post – we had several unexpected houseguests when I was cooking this meal earlier in the week but I’ll tell you one thing – each plate was cleaned nearly immediately!
Turkey Meatballs, Eggplant Ragu, & Homemade Spaghetti
2016-11-07 14:03:35
Serves 2
Prep Time
20 min
Cook Time
30 min
Total Time
50 min
Spaghetti Dough
- 360 grams flour (2 well-packed cups, unsifted)
- 1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
- 300 grams egg yolks (about 1 1/4 cups)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
Meatballs & Sauce
- 1 yellow onion
- 6 cloves garlic (feel free to use less but, as you know, we LOVE our garlic `round this house)
- 1 bunch parsley
- 6 roma tomatoes
- 2 eggplants
- 12 ounces ground turkey
- 3 tablespoons bread crumbs
- 2 tablespoons pine nuts
- 2 tablespoons dried currants (or raisins chopped into small pieces - I usually cannot find currants)
- 4 ounces milk
- 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese, divided
- 1 cup tomato purée
Instructions
- To make the dough, mix the flour and salt in a bowl. Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the eggs and olive oil. Beat the eggs with a fork, slowly bringing the flour in to the mixture. When the mixture can hold together on its own, clean as much as possible off the fork and switch to your hands. Fold and knead the dough, forming a single mass. I find driving the heel of my hand into the dough, flipping it 90 degrees and repeating is the best rhythm for me. You will want to knead the dough for 10 to 15 minutes or until the dough stops changing appearance and texture. It should feel like Play-Doh. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it sit on the counter for at least 30 minutes. (See the tips and tricks that have worked for me in the post linked in the notes, below.)
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Peel onion, halve, and thinly slice. Mince garlic. Rinse all produce. Finely chop parsley leaves, discarding stems. Cut tomatoes into 1⁄2- inch dice. Quarter eggplants lengthwise, then cut crosswise into 1⁄4-inch slices. Pat turkey dry with paper towel. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
- On a baking sheet, toss eggplant with 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1⁄2 teaspoon salt and pepper as desired. Arrange in a single layer, transfer to oven, and roast, flipping halfway through, until very tender, 20 minutes.
- While eggplant roasts, in a large bowl, combine breadcrumbs, pine nuts, currants, garlic, parsley, turkey, half of milk, and all but 1 tablespoon Parmesan. Season with 1⁄2 teaspoon salt and pepper as desired. Using your hands, mix well, then form into ~10 equal balls.
- Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. When oil is shimmering, add meatballs in a single layer and sear, flipping occasionally, until browned on all sides, 10-12 minutes total. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.
- Wipe pan from meatballs clean and add 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat. When oil is shimmering, add onion and tomatoes. Cook, stirring and breaking up tomatoes, until just softened, 5-7 minutes. Season with 1⁄2 teaspoon salt and pepper as desired. Add tomato purée and cook until fully combined, about 3 minutes. Add roasted eggplant and cook, stirring, until coated and warmed through, 2 minutes more.
- While the sauce simmers, roll out the pasta dough using a pasta machine. (Again, see tips and tricks that have worked for me in the post below. I like to lightly flour my finished pasta pieces and keep them on a baking sheet covered with a kitchen towel while I make the sauce.
- Return meatballs to pan and spoon over sauce, stirring to coat. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and simmer until meatballs are cooked through, 6-7 minutes.
- Drop the pasta into the boiling water. It's fresh dough so it will only need to cook for 2-3 minutes. Drain after it is done cooking.
- Divide pasta between 2 plates. Spoon meatballs and eggplant ragù over the pasta, garnish with remaining Parmesan. Buon appetito!
Notes
- http://mrandmrsmiller.com/2016/08/18/mushroom-ravioli/
Adapted from Plated & Water + Flour
Adapted from Plated & Water + Flour
Mr & Mrs Miller https://mrandmrsmiller.com/
