Turkey Quinoa Meatballs - Winter

This is one of my favourite meatball recipes, and when I serve it no one realizes it is egg and gluten free.  The meatballs always come out incredibly moist and flavourful.  They can be time consuming to make, so consider a double batch (although you might have to process in shifts if your run out of room).  They are always worth it!  These meatballs freeze very well, and are on a regular rotation in my home.  We often don't bother serving them with any pasta / grains and just eat them paired with some veggies.  Enjoy!

Meatballs
1-2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
2 lbs ground turkey (preferably organic, or hormone free)
2 cups cooked quinoa
1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp paprika
1-2 tsp Herbamare
½ - 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
large handful fresh parsley

Sauce
2 cups chicken or turkey stock
2 Tbsp arrowroot powder
½ - 1 cup pasta sauce

Heat a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the oil and onions; sauté for 5-10 minutes or until softened and beginning to change colour.  Add the garlic and sauté for another minute, or so.  Remove pan from heat.

Place the ground turkey, cooked quinoa, Italian seasoning, paprika, Herbamare, pepper, and parsley into a food processor fitted with the 'S' blade.  Add the sautéed anions and garlic.  Process until combined and ingredients are broken down (such as the parsley and cooked onions).  You may need to pulse the mixture a few times and scrape down the sides.  Roll mixture into equal sized meatballs.  Set them all onto plates as you roll them.

Preheat oven to 325 F.  Heat a large skillet over medium to medium-high heat for a minute or two.  Add a few tablespoons extra virgin olive oil.  Place enough meatballs into the pan so they still have some room to move.  Sauté for about 5 minutes moving the meatballs around a little so they cook on all sides.  They won't be all the way cooked at this point so don't eat them.  Add more oil in between batches.

Place sautéed meatballs into a 9x13 inch pan as they come off the stove.  While meatballs are cooling ,combine the stock, arrowroot powder, and pasta sauce into a bowl and whisk together to dissolve the arrowroot.  Once you have sautéed all of the meatballs, pour the stock-sauce mixture into the pan you cooked the meatballs in and simmer for about 2 minutes.  Pour sauce over meatballs in baking dish.  Cover, and bake for about 45 minutes.  Remove cover and bake for another 15-20 minutes.

Yield: 8 servings.  Taken from Nourishing Meals cookbook by Alissa Segersten and Tom Malterre