Clean Eating! Thai Curry Meatballs

I love trying new recipes and this one was so tasty I need to share it.  It's also egg and wheat free so it's good for our clean eating plan!

You can make these meatballs ahead and freeze them for up to 3 months in a well sealed container.  This was my first time trying this recipe so I didn't modify it much but next time I'm going to make smaller meatballs and serve them with some rice noodles rather than the brown rice I served them with this time.

Meatballs:

2 lbs ground turkey (I used a mix of bison with a little turkey to make 2 lbs)
1 c zucchini, shredded and liquid squeezed out
1 Tbsp fish sauce
1/4 c green onions, finely chopped
2 Tbsp basil, chopped
2 tsp fresh ginger, grated
2 minced garlic cloves
1 tsp red curry paste
2 Tbsp coconut milk
1/8 tsp hot pepper chilli flakes

Combine all the ingredient and mix with your hands thoroughly.  (make sure the meat is completely thawed or your hands will get VERY cold, lesson learned, lol) 

Make 28 meatballs, lay them on a cookie sheet and set them aside while you mix the sauce.

Sauce:

1 1/2 c coconut milk
3 Tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp red curry paste
1 tsp fish sauce
1/8 tsp hot pepper chilli flakes
5 - 6 kaffir lime leave (optional)

In a small bowl, whisk all the ingredients together and set aside.

Preheat a large skillet on medium-high.

Cook meatballs until browned on all side, don't worry about cooking them all the way through.  They finish cooking in the sauce.

Add the sauce, reduce heat and simmer uncovered.

Cook for about 20 minutes.  Your kitchen will smell AMAZING by this point and your family will come asking when dinner is ready.  Tell them the longer they wait the better they'll taste.

I had decided too late to make rice to serve with the meatballs so mine sat simmering for about 30 minutes while I cooked up some brown rice.

1 meatball with 2 tsp of sauce = 50 calories 1.3 g fat.

I loved learning that you can substitute the egg that is usually in meatballs to hold them together with grated zucchini.  I'm going to try that with meatloaf and hamburgers from now on.

Happy cooking!