Turkey Meatballs with Pesto

My basil has doubled in size over the last 2 weeks when I was gone, so I decided to make some pesto. Ground turkey was on sale, so I decided to make some turkey meatballs in pesto sauce with penne. I added capers and balsamic vinegar to the pesto to give it a sharper flavor.



Ingredients for meatballs:

• 1.25 lbs of ground turkey (93% lean works well)
• 8 oz of mushrooms, finely minced (optional but highly recommended)
• 1/4 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1/2 onion, finally minced
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan and/or romano
• basil, oregano, cayenne, thyme, salt, black pepper
• 1 teaspoon of balsamic vinegar

This is easy, combine all the ingredients (add a few dashes of each of the herbs), form into small balls and cook. I fried them up in some olive oil...I usually bake meatballs, but the turkey is pretty lean as it is, and I didn't feel like making the house really hot by running the oven. I forgot to get mushrooms; this was the first time I made turkey meatballs without them and found that the texture was a little grainy...they weren't bad but the mushrooms definitely help the texture and the flavor.

I made the same pesto I normally make, but with pine nuts, a teaspoon of capers, and a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar.

I put the pesto over the meatballs and penne. I topped it all with another teaspoon of capers and some more grated parmesan. Next time, I think I will roasted up some red peppers and other vegetables to have with the pasta.