Pueblo Black Garlic Meatballs with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
Ingredients
1 Lb Ground Turkey Meat
3 Red Peppers
746ml Can Crushed Tomatoes
1 White Onion
1 Head of Garlic
4 Tbsp Pueblo Black Garlic Hot Sauce
1 Cup Dried Couscous
1 Bunch of Asparagus
Fresh Parsley (1/4 cup minced)
1 Bunch fresh Sage
1 Egg
1 Cup of Breadcrumbs
1/4 Shredded Parmesan
2 Tbsp Honey
1/2 Cup of Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper
Optional: 2 Tsp Cayenne Pepper
Instructions
Makes Appx: 15-20 meat balls, 4 Servings
Total Cook & Prep Time: 1 Hour
Preheat the oven to 350 F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Slice red peppers in half and remove stem and seeds, dice half the white onion, and slice garlic head in half. Spread out on the baking sheet.
Note: if you don’t have a blender or food processor, I would recommend dicing up the peppers into very small pieces so that they can be added to a smooth crushed tomatoes to create a chunkier pasta sauce texture.
Drizzle peppers, onions, and garlic with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.
Place tray in the oven and roast for 25 minutes.
In a large mixing bowl combine turkey meat, egg, minced parsley, bread crumbs, parmesan, salt & pepper, and 2 tsp of Pueblo Black Garlic Sauce .
Line a second baking sheet with parchment paper.
Use your hands to form 15-20 meatballs, depending on how large you prefer them.
Remove veggie tray from the oven and allow to cool for several minutes.
Add meatball pan to the oven and let them cook for 20 minutes, flipping at halfway.
Place a large soup pot on high heat. Add 1 can of crushed tomatoes and one can of water. and roasted veggies to the pot, removing garlic from its outer skin first. Bring to a boil. Optional: add cayenne pepper for a spicer pasta sauce.
In a separate sauce pan add 1 cup of couscous, 1 1/2 cups of water, a tbsp of olive oil, and a dash of salt, cover with a lid and bring to a boil.
Once the couscous is boiling, reduce to low, keep covered and cook for 15- 18 minutes or until the water is absorbed.
Once the pasta sauce pot is boiling remove from heat. Use a hand immersion blender to smoothen the sauce, or transfer to a food process or blender. Add back to the soup pot and keep warm on a back burner.
Place a frying pan on medium heat, add 1/3 cup olive oil and allow to heat for 2-4 minutes.
Once oil is heated, reduce to medium heat and add 20 fresh sage leaves to the pan, stirring occasionally until they are lightly crisped (about 5-8 minutes).
Remove meatballs from the oven and set aside.
Place a second frying pan on medium heat, and transfer half of the sage oil into it and 2 tbsp Pueblo Black Garlic Sauce .
Break off ends of the asparagus using your hands. The asparagus will snap naturally where it should.
Add honey to the original sage leaf pan and bring to a bubble. Add in asparagus stocks.
Add partially cooked meatballs to the second frying pan, oil should be hot enough to crisp the outsides of the meatballs. Cook for 10 minutes, flipping occasionally.
Add salt and pepper to the asparagus pan along with a squeeze of lemon juice if you have it.
On each plate add a heaping scoop of couscous with a handful of asparagus on the side, add 3-5 meatballs on top of the couscous along with enough roasted red pepper sauce to coat the meatballs and couscous.
Top the whole dish with parmesan, crisped sage leaves from the asparagus pan, and salt and pepper.
