Turkey and Rice balls (Albondigas) - Perfect for Thanksgiving Spanish

Turkey and Rice balls (Albondigas) - Perfect for Thanksgiving Spanish -

Make delicious meatballs with bold, flavorful beef is no great feat, but creating something as delicious using ground turkey is another story. As the old joke goes, it can be bland, but at least it's dry. So you're going to need a very specialized strategy, and "specialized strategy," I mean a little cold, leftover rice.

As these simmer your sauce or soup, the rice grains absorb moisture, swell and create a moist meatball relatively soft. Beyond this, you will also need to look for ground meat turkey thigh (available at most of your grocery chains at higher prices).

Moreover, as all proceeds dumpling / meatloaf, you can test your seasoning by cooking a small piece of the mixture before rolling your ball. Even if the meat has not cooked in the sauce, at least you can see if it needs more salt. I'll just fry a little patty, and adjust if necessary, and suggest you do the same.

I did not want this recipe for Thanksgiving alternative dinner but now that I think about it, these could actually work. Maybe you have a small group, or do not like looking for a giant carcass on the table (hey, some people are weird like that), or your in-laws are Spanish, and want to show them you can say "albondigas." Whatever the occasion, I try to give hope to those soon. Take pleasure!

Ingredients for about 20-24 small meatballs:

1 pound of turkey thigh meat

rice, long grain white terra 1 packed cup
3 crushed garlic cloves
1/4 cup chopped He alian parsley
1 large egg

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 tablespoon coffee ground cumin

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon of olive oil

For the sauce (I did not measure these ingredients, so they are just guessing)

2 1/2 cups tomato sauce prepared

1 cup chicken broth, and more still needed

1 teaspoon paprika

1/3 cup cream or heavy cream

1 tablespoon vinegar sherry
2 tablespoons chopped Italian soup parsley
salt and pepper to taste