Pasta Sauce with Turkey meatballs and Sausage

Everyone always asks: how do you put meatballs in sauce without having them fall apart?  My pasta sauce with turkey meatballs and sausage will answer this question.  I find turkey very lean and to up the flavour, I add full-fat Italian sausage.  Once they marry with our fresh tomatoes, the aroma in the house is above and beyond inviting.

These turkey meatballs will go into the sauce without browning them and keep their shape.

Turkey in Italian Cooking

My funniest story comes from my early years as an immigrant.  After thanksgiving the story line of choice at school was: on thanksgiving we ate….  Of course in an Italian house, Thanksgiving meal consisted of lasagna, meatballs, cutlets, and an array of food that was endless.  One by one we went up to show our teacher. When it was my turn, she told me that everyone ate turkey on Thanksgiving and to go back and draw a turkey.

I still laugh at this.  If it wasn’t for my friend Roma who told me that a turkey was like a big chicken, I would have sat there all day.  We didn’t cook turkey in our house for years; the Italians always made the foods they loved on special occasions.  Ask any of my good friends and they will tell you that it took me years feeling comfortable cooking a turkey.  Today I incorporate a lot of turkey in my kitchen.

FYI:  I still hold on to that notebook and the turkey I drew is hilarious.

Bathing in the sauce, these turkey meatballs keep their shape. 

I use a lot of Molisana Italian products in my cooking. You can follow them at:https://www.instagram.com/pastalamolisana/

Print

Pasta Sauce With Turkey Meatballs and Sausage

Have your pasta two ways!!

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Total Time 2 hours

Servings 8

Author Renata Solski

Ingredients

The Turkey Meatballs

• 1 l lb ground turkey meat
• 1 cup breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 clove garlic crushed
• 2 tbsp minced parsley
• 1/4 cup cold water
• 1 tsp salt

The Sauce

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 clove garlic cut in half
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 3 large Italian Sausages
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 4 cups strained tomatoes I use our homemade
• 1 bottle Molisana passata
• 1 tsp dried basil
• salt and pepper

Recipe Notes

Our strained tomatoes are homemade.  You can get the same consistency by taking a can of whole tomatoes and putting it through a food mill.