Guys. Flash photography is not easy. Especially if you’ve never used it to photograph food. For the last 5 years, I’ve only used natural light, and the occasional light box when I’ve timed my procrastination incorrectly, for all the photos you see on my blog. Flash photography is totally new to me. If my food looks a bit like photos in your mom’s archived Gourmet magazine from 1974, I’m sorry! I’m working on it! (I’m a crazy person, these photos are perfectly wonderful.)

I also got an ANOVA sous vide immersion circulator as a gift to myself. I turned 30 on December 30th! Woohoo! Champagne birthday! I’ve become a bit obsessed with this machine. So far, I’ve made steak, salmon, carrots, and eggs. Ohhhhhh, those eggs. It’s definitely a fun gadget to have, but I’m a bit old-fashioned and will probably resort to my old cooking methods in a week or so. Except for steak. Dear lord. I’ve never eaten a steak that tender before in my life. That was really cool, except for the fact that it took about 2 hours to make. WORTH IT.

This is not a sous vide recipe. Just humble turkey leek meatballs that take a bath in a golden white wine sauce and sit atop a throne of dill and pea rice. Good enough for a dinner party and easy enough for a weeknight meal. Enjoy =)

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TURKEY LEEK MEATBALLS WITH WHITE WINE SAUCE

AND DILL & PEA RICE

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

[ezcol_1third]For the rice:
1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup jasmine or basmati rice, rinsed until water is clear
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup frozen peas
1/4 cup chopped dill
2 tbsp chopped mint
 
For the turkey meatballs:
1 1/2 tbsp butter
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
4 leeks, green & light green parts sliced thinly
1 lb ground turkey
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
2 cloves garlic, minced finely
1 egg
1/4 cup plain bread crumbs
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp fresh black pepper
 
For the sauce:
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced finely
1 tbsp all purpose flour
3/4 cup white wine, like a chardonnay
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp fresh black pepper

lemon zest, garnish
chopped cilatnro, garnish[/ezcol_1third] [ezcol_2third_end]For the rice:
Heat the olive oil in a medium pot with tight fitting lid over medium heat. Add the rice and coat with the oil. Cook for about a minute until the rice is fragrant. Add the water and salt. Bring the water to a boil, turn the heat down to low and cover. Simmer for 18-20 minutes until the rice is cooked through. Allow the rice to sit covered for 3 minutes before lifting the lid.

After 3 minutes, quickly add the peas on top of the rice and return the lid. The peas will cook/steam from the residual heat of the rice. To finish the rice before serving, add the dill and mint and fluff. Taste for seasoning and adjust with salt.

For the turkey meatballs:
Heat the butter and oil in a sauté pan over medium-low heat. Add the sliced leeks and sauté until softened, about 7-8 minutes. Remove the leeks from the pan and allow to cool.

In a large bowl, combine HALF OF THE SAUTED LEEKS (reserving the other half for the sauce), turkey, cilantro, garlic, egg, breadcrumbs, salt, and black pepper. Make into 22-24 small meatballs. I use an ice cream scoop with release to get them all the same size. (At this point, these meatballs can be refrigerated for 24 hours or frozen for up to a month.)

To finish the meatballs and make the sauce:
Heat the olive oil in a sauté pan with lid over medium heat. Sear the meatballs on two sides until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Remove the meatballs from the pan and add the reserved leeks and garlic. Cook for about 2 minutes until the garlic is fragrant. Sprinkle the flour into the pan and continue cooking for an additional minute. Deglaze the pan with the white wine making sure to scrape the bottom of the pan to release all the flavor bits. Reduce the wine slightly and then pour the chicken stock into the pan. Mix in the cilantro. Season with salt and fresh black pepper. Bring the sauce to a simmer. Return the meatballs into the sauce, in one layer, and cover the pan with the lid. Simmer the meatballs for 20 minutes until cooked through. Taste the sauce for seasoning and adjust with salt and pepper.

Serve the meatballs over rice. Garnish with fresh cilantro and lemon zest. Enjoy![/ezcol_2third_end] [ezcol_1half][/ezcol_1half] [ezcol_1half_end][/ezcol_1half_end]