Great Balls of Fire! Habanero Meatballs Recipe

We recently made some homemade gnocchi and it was some true kitchen fun, but we also wanted to make sure we got our habanero kick to go along with the pasta. What better to go with gnocchi and tomato sauce than habanero meatballs? These flaming balls truly earn their name of "Great Balls of Fire". You'll love them. We served ours in the sauce with pasta, but these would be great on their own as an appetizer or side dish.

Great Balls of Fire! Habanero Meatballs Recipe

Ingredients

• 12 ounces ground turkey meat
• 2 habanero peppers, chopped
• 1 small sweet onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 3 tablespoons bread crumbs
• 2 tablespoon Italian seasonings, dried
• 1 tablespoon ground chili powder
• 1 egg, beaten
• Olive oil

Cooking Directions

1. Heat a saute pan to medium heat and add onion with a splash of olive oil. Saute about 5 minutes, or until onion becomes soft and translucent.
2. Add minced garlic and spread. Roast the garlic about 2 minutes.
3. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
4. In a large mixing bowl, combine ground turkey, habanero peppers, Parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, Italian seasonings, chili powder and beaten egg. Hand mix.
5. Add cooled onions and garlic, then mix well to combine.
6. Form into roughly 12 small meatballs and set aside.
7. Heat your saute pan back to medium-high heat and add about 1 tablespoon olive oil.
8. Add meatballs and sear about 1 minute, then flip and sear the other sides. Make sure they become nice and brown.
9. Reduce heat to medium-low and let simmer about 12-15 more minutes, or until they are thoroughly cooked through. Another option, instead of this step, is to place the seared meatballs directly into a simmering sauce where you can leave them up to 30 minutes to simmer and complete cooking in the sauce.
10. Serve!

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