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Thursday, January 26, 2012

Crunchy and Crusted: Crinkle Meatballs

For this month's Five Star Cooking theme, I made a very different kind of meatballs. Instead of soft and juicy, these are crunchy and crusted, with a tint of sweetness from pieces of dates. The yogurt sauce drizzled on top balances out the texture. Surprisingly, this is now my favorite kind of meatballs.

Crinkle Meatballs with Turkey and Date

Crinkle Meatballs with Turkey and Date
from Food and Wine
Ingredients
  • 1 pound ground turkey
  • 2 cups fresh bread crumbs
  • 6 dates, pitted and finely chopped
  • 2 large eggs, beaten
  • 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
  • 1 teaspoon Asian sesame oil
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 1 cup French green lentils
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed and peeled
  • 2 thyme sprigs
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
  • 1 cup plain low-fat yogurt
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon chopped mint
  • 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
Recipe
  1. In a bowl, combine the ground turkey with the bread crumbs, dates, eggs, sesame seeds, sesame oil, 2 teaspoons of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
  2. Preheat the oven to 400°. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, cover the lentils, garlic, thyme and cinnamon stick with 2 inches of water; bring to a boil. Simmer over moderately low heat until the lentils are tender, about 25 minutes. Drain the lentils and transfer to a bowl; pick out and discard the seasonings. Stir the olive oil and vinegar into the lentils and season with salt and pepper.
  3. Form the turkey mixture into 1-inch meatballs. Spread the meatballs on a lightly oiled large rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes, or until browned on the bottom and cooked through.
  4. Meanwhile, blend the yogurt with the lemon juice, mint and lemon zest, and season with salt and pepper. Serve the meatballs with the lentils and yogurt.
Thank you to Natasha from 5 Star Foodie and Laz from Lazaro Cooks! for hosting this month's 5 Star Cooking!




14 comments:

  1. A very different texture for meatballs, very unique, I love the idea!

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  2. I like the blending of cultures...I note Mid-Eastern, Asian and French. Very nice dish.

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  3. This sounds so interesting with the dates. And, the yogurt sauce sounds delicious. I need to try this version of meatballs!

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  4. Beautiful recipe. I love the balance of flavor. The texture is right up my alley. Love crunchy and crusted.

    Be Well

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  5. What a fun texture to find in a meatball!

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  6. I love the name! These are fantastic...the recipe is truly original and delightful!

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  7. These are so interesting! Great textures and flavors. Sounds delicious!

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  8. Wow, you can see they're deliciously crunchy - and the yoghurt sauce sounds like it complements them beautifully!

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  9. One of my favorite meatballs is a deep-fried number... these reminded me of them, but healthier since they're baked. Great to see those dates in the mix and the spicing is really fine. Another great recipe for the challenge!

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  10. I think you are the second one so far to add dates in the meatballs. i need to try that too! Crispy and crunchy can be my all time favorite too!

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  11. These look amazing! I love their crinkled look, and the sweetness of dates is a fantastic addition!

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  12. Love this idea and the texture sounds so great. The yogurt too, excellent touch to balance it out.

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  13. these look fantastic. what a great different type of meatball so many fun flacors. Sounds like a great dish. thanks for sharing!

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  14. Jessica, these meatballs look so good and totally unique...
    I love the idea of adding dates here...
    Texture looks really good as well.

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