Stress Busting Gluten-Free Turkey Meatballs with Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce
I love creating new recipes and experimenting mix of healthful, innovative and balanced recipes, like these nourishing, dairy-free, gluten-free turkey meatballs.
By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, egg-free, gluten-free, grain-free, nut-free, peanut-free, soy-free, and generally top food allergy-friendly.
I have noted also that you can use an egg in place of the flax meal.
Herb Note – As I note, the eleuthero and ashwagandha do not notably affect the taste or consistency of the gluten-free turkey meatballs or tomato sauce, so if you don’t have any on hand, you can omit them. I’ve found that the “fresh” eleuthero but it is a bit hard to come by, but ashwagandha is a very common herbal supplement that can even be readily bought in bulk.
In small amounts, eleuthero and ashwagandha help the body regulate stress and maintain balance. In these amounts, they don’t add any discernible taste but improve my health in ways I can feel.
Recipe
Prep time: 30 mins
Cook time: 75 mins
Total time: 1 hour 45 mins
Serves: 4 servings
Ingredients
Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
Reserved chopped chard stems
6 garlic cloves, minced
2½ pounds vine-ripened tomatoes, chopped
6 or 7 oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and chopped
½ cup thinly sliced fresh basil, plus more for garnish
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
2 teaspoons ashwagandha
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Gluten-Free Turkey Meatballs
1 pound ground turkey
1 cup finely chopped baby spinach
1 small carrot, peeled and finely shredded
1 shallot, minced
5 garlic cloves, minced
¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons flax meal
2 teaspoons salt-free Italian seasoning
1½ teaspoons dried (not ground) eleuthero (see herb note in post above)
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
½ teaspoon ashwagandha (see herb note in post above)
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Cooked brown rice spaghetti noodles or other organic gluten-free noodles (such as spiralized sweet potatoes or "zoodles"), for serving
Instructions
For the Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce
In a 4-quart saucepan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until translucent, about 6 minutes.
Add the chard stems and garlic and cook for about 2 minutes.
Add the tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, basil, oregano, ashwagandha, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer until the sauce thickens, about 15 minutes.
For the Gluten-Free Turkey Meatballs
In a large bowl, combine the turkey, spinach, carrot, shallot, garlic, parsley, flax meal, Italian seasoning, eleuthero, salt, ashwagandha, and pepper and mix well.
Form the mixture into walnut-sized balls.
In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Working in batches, brown the meatballs until golden, turning occasionally, 5 to 6 minutes total.
Gently lower the gluten-free turkey meatballs into the simmering tomato sauce. Simmer until the meatballs absorb some of the sauce and soften, about 50 to 60 minutes.
Serve over the noodles.