Turkey Meatballs in Roasted Red Pepper Sauce with Millet and Zucchini

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the vegetables and oven

   Preheat the oven to 220 °C. Halve the peppers, remove the seeds, and cut them into wide strips. Cut the zucchini into half-moons about 1.5 cm thick. Finely chop the onion and crush the garlic.

   
2. 2

   Roast the pepper and zucchini

   Arrange the pepper and zucchini on a baking sheet and toss with 15 ml olive oil, 2 g salt, and 0.5 g black pepper. Roast for 22–25 minutes, until the pepper is darkened in places and the zucchini is tender but still holds its shape. After roasting, place the pepper in a covered bowl for 5 minutes, then peel off the skin.

   
3. 3

   Cook the millet

   Rinse the millet in a sieve with hot water. Bring 500 ml water and 2 g salt to a boil in a saucepan, add the millet, cover, and simmer over low heat for 18–20 minutes, until the water has been absorbed. Remove from the heat and leave covered for another 5 minutes, then fluff the grains with a fork.

   
4. 4

   Shape and brown the meatballs

   Mix the ground turkey with the egg, breadcrumbs, 3 g smoked paprika, cumin, 1 g oregano, 2 g salt, and 0.5 g black pepper. Shape into 16 meatballs. Heat 10 ml oil in a large skillet and brown the meatballs on all sides in two batches, about 5–6 minutes per batch; they should develop a browned exterior but do not need to be cooked through yet. Transfer them to a plate.

   
5. 5

   Make the red pepper sauce

   Add the remaining 10 ml oil, onion, and garlic to the same skillet. Cook for 3 minutes, until the onion softens. Add the roasted pepper, chopped tomatoes, vinegar, the remaining 1 g smoked paprika, 1 g oregano, 2 g salt, and 0.5 g black pepper. Blend the mixture until smooth with an immersion blender, then bring it to a gentle simmer.

   
6. 6

   Finish cooking the meatballs and serve

   Return the meatballs to the sauce, cover, and simmer gently for 10–12 minutes. The center of the largest meatball should reach at least 74 °C when cooked through. Divide the millet and roasted zucchini among plates, then add the meatballs and sauce.