Turkey Meatball w/Angel Hair Pasta

Have I ever told you guys about Italian night at our favorite restaurant in Dallas, Texas? Long story short, we visit an Italian restaurant every Thursday. We’d go on the regular because it meant I didn’t have to cook dinner. We each got to order whatever we wanted, and someone else did the dishes. It was basically my favorite night of the week and every single week I’d order the exact same thing… angel hair pasta with tons of olive oil, heaps of sautéed garlic and parmesan cheese. That’s it. I LOVED garlic and angel hair and anything else that came with it. It was my go-to for years!

The Turkey Meatballs with Angel Hair are a tribute to the days spent On Greenville Ave, in Dallas, Texas, but with the addition of these lightened up turkey meatballs that you’ll soon be obsessed with. Promise!

And word to the wise – this recipe calls for ground turkey meat – I usually buy the dark meat because it packs WAY more flavor… but truth be told, you can use any ground turkey meat you prefer. Or ground chicken. Choose your own adventure.

Ingredients
For the meatballs
1 pound 85% ground dark meat turkey
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 shallot, finely diced
1/4 cup chives, finely chopped
1/4 cup shredded parmesan
1/4 cup finely diced sun dried tomatoes packed in olive oil
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
¼ cup olive oil

For the pasta
1 lb angel hair
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 pints cherry tomatoes, halved
4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Instructions
Transfer the ground turkey to a large bowl, and add in garlic, shallots, chives, parmesan, sun dried tomatoes, red pepper flakes, salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Using your hands, incorporate everything together. Make sure everything is evenly incorporated without over mixing the ground turkey.
Form the mixture into small meatballs, just smaller than a golf ball.
Heat the olive oil in a large heavy bottom skillet over medium high heat. Once the oil is hot, add half of the meatballs and sauté for 3-4 minutes, turning every so often to brown the outside and then continue cooking through for about 6 minutes more. Once the meatballs are cooked, remove them from the oil and repeat the process with the remaining meatballs.
In a large skillet, heat the 4 tablespoons of olive oil over medium high heat. Add the cherry tomatoes and saute until they start to fall apart. Add the chopped garlic and season with salt and pepper.
Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain and combine all the elements into a summer meatball pasta