Spaghetti with Basil Turkey Meatballs

In addition to making turkey burgers (recipes can be found here and here) with the marinated ground turkey, I made meatballs for spaghetti together with Trader Joe’s Puttanesca sauce and mushrooms. You can, of course, use any tomato-based sauce with any vegetable to make spaghetti.

Enjoy!

Turkey Ingredients

3 lbs. Ground Turkey (you only use 1 lb.)

¼ - ½ cups Basil, chopped

2 tsp. ground White Pepper

2 Tbs. Cornstarch

4 Tbs. Soy Sauce

2 Tbs. Hoisin Sauce

2 Tbs. Shaoxing Rice Wine or Dry Sherry

2 tsp. Sesame Oil

Pasta Ingredients

1 lbs. Spaghetti

1 lbs. Mushrooms, sliced

8 oz. (about ⅓ of a bottle) Trader Joe’s Puttanesca Sauce

Red Wine to deglaze the pan (optional)

Olive Oil for cooking

Grated Parmesan Cheese for a topping (optional)

Preparation Instructions

1. You only need 1 lb. of the ground turkey for this recipe. However the ground turkey can come in a 3 lbs. package, in which case the remainder can be used for making turkey burgers (recipes can be found here and here). The turkey is marinated overnight in the refrigerator using an Asian-inspired set of ingredients – ground white pepper, cornstarch, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, Shaoxing Rice Wine, and sesame oil – plus chopped basil.
2. Take the marinated turkey out of the refrigerator at least one hour before cooking and form the turkey into meatballs. Set the meatballs aside.
3. Clean and slice the mushrooms. Set the mushrooms aside.

Cooking Instructions

1. Put the spaghetti into boiling water and cook for the time indicated on the package or until the pasta is al dente. Reserve ½ cup of the boiling water after the spaghetti is done before draining the pasta into a colander.
2. Heat a wok or pan of medium-high heat before adding olive oil and then the meatballs. Brown the meatballs evenly before setting aside on an oil-absorbent paper towel. Depending upon the size of your pan, you might have to brown the meatballs in batches, in which case reheat the pan over medium-high heat before adding olive oil.
3. Reheat the pan or wok to medium-high heat before adding olive oil. Sautee the sliced mushrooms and then set the mushrooms aside.
4. Reheat the wok or pan over medium-high heat before adding olive oil. Add the spaghetti to the pan and stir fry the noodles, coating them in the olive oil before adding the cooked meatballs and mushrooms to the pan. Mix the ingredients together.
5. Add the reserved spaghetti cooking water and the Puttanesca sauce to the pan. Mix the ingredients together. The amount of Puttanesca sauce added to the dish can be increased if more sauce is desired. Optionally add red wine to deglaze the pan and mix all the ingredients together.
6. Put the spaghetti into a serving dish and optionally top with grated Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.