April 3, 2020

Deconstructed Cajun & Herbed Goat Cheese Turkey Meatballs Over Zoodles

Has your refrigerator ever pooped out and you have to play the fun game of “cook everything perishable before it goes bad”? Well, that’s what happened when this recipe was born. I shouldn’t really make excuses though, because most of my recipes are born out of a need to use up what’s in my fridge and pantry.

In this recipe, you’ll notice that I put all of the seasoning to taste. I believe seasoning is deeply personal, and it’s hard to put a number on it. It depends how much spice you like, whether you like to taste the herbs in your dishes, or if you just want the flavors to come together in the end.

If you don’t have a spiralizer or don’t want to waste your time doing the honestly annoying task of spiralizing, most grocery stores are selling pre-spiralized packages of zucchini, sweet potato, butternut squash, and all sorts of other spiralized veggies. Get a variety pack if you’re feeling wild!

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Ingredients:
1 large zucchini or pre-spiralized zucchini
1 lb ground turkey or chicken
½ onion, diced
½ red/yellow/orange bell pepper, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
½ log soft herbed goat cheese (about 2 oz)
2 tbsp creamy tomato vodka sauce
4 tbsp oil of choice, I prefer avocado or olive
Tony Chacheres Cajun seasoning, to taste
Garlic powder, to taste
Dried parsley, to taste
Oregano, to taste
1 pinch sea salt

Recipe:
1. Spiralize 1 zucchini (or use pre-spiralized), cut in half with clean kitchen scissors, sprinkle sea salt over them, and set aside. Salting them lets them “bleed” a little, extracting some of the moisture to give a satisfying, crisp bite.

2. Heat 2 tbsp avocado or olive oil on nonstick skillet. Add onion, bell pepper, and garlic to the pan and cook 1-2 mins on medium heat until onions are translucent.

3. Add 1 lb ground turkey to pan and break it up, stirring all ingredients together.

4. Season turkey and veggies to taste with Tony Chachere’s Cajun seasoning, garlic powder, oregano, and dried parsley. I don’t add salt because the Cajun seasoning has salt in it – if you’re not using it, be sure to add some salt!

5. When turkey looks light brown and cooked through, about 13-15 minutes, add more seasoning from step 4, as some of it has likely cooked out. Add creamy tomato vodka sauce and herbed goat cheese and stir. I love the Fresh Thyme vodka sauce, but I know that’s a store only available in the Midwest, so use whichever sauce you like.

6. Heat 2 tbsp avocado or olive oil in a second skillet. Add zoodles to pan and season with same seasoning as turkey in step 4. Cook for 4-5 minutes.

7. Spoon a heap of zoodles into a bowl and top with the turkey mixture.

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