Marsala Meatballs

Tender flavorful meatballs served in a Marsala wine and mushroom sauce!

So what inspired me to go come up with this recipe?

Well I’m a Marsala fanatic

Chicken marsala, veal marsala… heck even pork marsala and you can count me in!

In case you have never heard of it marsala is wine that can be dry or sweet and is used to create some of the best sauces you can imagine

True marsala is produced in the region surrounding the Italian city of Marsala in Sicily

I typically favor the sweet but you will have to decide that for yourself

Now even though Marsala cooking wine is easily found in most supermarkets I’m urging you to leave those on the shelf

Go to a wine store and by a true Italian Marsala

The difference in quality and the flavor of the finished dish will be night and day

Trust me you will never by grocery store Marsala again

I was craving a Marsala but felt like breaking away from the tradition

Then I had an idea

Meatballs!!!!

I mean what’s more versatile than meatballs?

They are the perfect vessel for most flavor combinations and thus the Marsala meatball was born!

A classic Marsala ingredient are mushrooms and I want these meatballs to embrace that

So we are going to start off with 3.5 ounces of shiitake mushrooms and 1 onion

Peel and chop the onion

Remove and discard the stems from the mushrooms and slice the caps

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat and add in the onions

Sprinkle with a pinch of kosher salt and ground black pepper

Cook 2-3 minutes or until the onions are lightly browned and translucent

Add in the mushrooms

Cook another 2-3 minutes or until the mushrooms soften and lightly brown

Remove from the heat and allow to cool

Place the onions and mushrooms in a food processor

Pulse until finely chopped, you want to avoid it becoming pureed

Next we will need 3 pounds of ground turkey

You can certainly use any ground meat you like, beef, veal, pork, chicken etc.

Add the onion and mushroom mixture to the ground meat

Next we will need 1 egg whisked, 1/2 cup of Panko (Japanese breadcrumbs), 1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese, 3 grated garlic cloves, 1 tablespoon of fresh chopped parsley and 1 teaspoon each of kosher salt and ground black pepper

Add all of these ingredients to the meat

Using your hands gently fold the mixture together

Preheat your oven to 350 F

Line a sheet pan with parchment paper sprayed with cooking oil

Using a 1/4 cup measure start scooping the meat onto the pan

Roll them into balls

I found that dampening my palms with a bit of water makes rolling meatballs easier

We were able to get 24 meatballs out of this

Place them in the oven and cook 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned and firm

Remove them and set aside

Now let’s start working on the sauce

You can actually start this step while the meatballs are cooking in the oven

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat

Next we will need 2 garlic cloves sliced, 1 tablespoon of sliced sun dried tomatoes in their oil and 1/2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes

Sun dried tomatoes are my secret Marsala sauce weapon

They just add a wonderful flavor

Add them to the pan

Saute 2-3 minutes

Next we will need 12 ounces of baby bella mushrooms

Brush any excess dirt off of the mushrooms and slice them stem and all

Add them to the pan

Saute for 4-6 minutes

Next we will need 2 cups of Marsala wine

Add the wine to the pan

Bring to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer 6-8 minutes to cook the alcohol off

Now we are going to make a roux to thicken the sauce

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a pan over low heat

Sprinkle in 1/4 cup of flour and more as needed

Whisk the butter and flour together until it forms a paste and lightly browns

You want to cook out the flour taste

Add a little of the roux in at a time to the sauce until you get the desired consistency

Remember you can alway add more but you can’t take it out

Once the sauce has thickened slightly add the meatballs to the pan tossing them around to coat

Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for 10-12 minutes to allow the flavors to meld and heat the meatballs through

 I like to finish the dish off with fresh herbs

In this case a handful of fresh parsley and basil will do

Pile the basil and parsley together and give them a fine chop

Sprinkle the herbs over the meatballs

Serve over noodles or with crusty bread and dig in!!!

Enjoy!!!

Tools used to make this recipe

Architec Carving Board, Gripperwood

KitchenAid 3-Speed Hand Blender

Mini Prep Glass Bowl

NuWave Flex Precision Induction Cooktop

Pyrex Mixing Bowl

Cooks Standard Multi-Ply Clad Stainless Steel Tagine and Extra Glass Lid, 4.5-Quart

Wilton Recipe Right Non-stick Cookie Sheet Set, 2-Piece

OXO Good Grips Flat Wire Whisk

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