Turkey Meatballs with Marinara Sauce

This recipe comes from Curtis Stone's new book Whats for dinner?

Ingredients

• 1/4 c olive oil
• 3 shallots finely chopped
• 6 cloves garlic minced
• 6 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 1/2 c dry white wine
• 1kg ripe tomatoes coarsely chopped
• 1/2 c fresh basil, coarsely chopped
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Meatballs:
• 1kg ground turkey
• 1/2 c plain panko breadcrumbs
• 2 shallots finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 3 T fresh flat leaf parsley chopped
• 2 T fresh thyme chopped
• • 1/4 c olive oil
  • 3 shallots finely chopped
  • 6 cloves garlic minced
  • 6 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 1/2 c dry white wine
  • 4 pounds ripe red heirloom or plum tomatoes coarsely chopped
  • 1/2 c fresh basil, coarsely chopped
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper2 T Dijon mustard
• 2 t salt
• 1 egg (large)
• 1/4 c canola oil
• 1 wedge  Parmesan cheese

Directions

Tomato Sauce

Heat the oil in a heavy wide pot over medium-high heat.

Add the shallots and garlic and sauté until tender about 2 minutes.

Add the thyme and bay leaf.

Add the wine and tomatoes and bring to a simmer.

Simmer very gently uncovered over medium-low heat stirring occasionally until the tomatoes break down to form a chunky sauce (you may need to add a little water during the cooking process if the sauce thickens too much) about 1½ hours.

Stir in the basil.

Season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper. Remove the thyme stems and bay leaf.

Meatballs

Combine the turkey breadcrumbs shallots garlic parsley thyme mustard salt and paprika in a large mixing bowl.

Add the egg.

Using your hand gently mix just until blended.

Form the mixture into 6 to 8 meatballs.

Heat the oil in a heavy large frying pan over medium heat.

Fry the meatballs until golden brown all over about 12 minutes.

Using a slotted spoon transfer the meatballs to the tomato sauce.

Simmer gently until the meatballs are cooked through and the flavors are well married about 10 minutes.

Transfer the meatballs and the tomato sauce to serving bowls.

Using a Microplane rasp grater grate the cheese over the meatballs and serve.

I served mine on pasta, very nice.