Name: Roast Turkey Meatballs and Onions With Lemony Sautéed Zucchini Recipe
Total time: 30 min
Yield: Serves 2
Ingredients: 1 pound ground turkey; 1 lemon; 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt, plus more; 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more; 1 small red onion, cut into 12 wedges; 1/2 cup everyday olive oil, divided; 2 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick half-moons; 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

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By Ben Mims

Jan. 5, 2023

Lemon zest adds bright flavor to ground turkey for meatballs that roast quickly in the oven with red onions. Zucchini is lightly blistered until tender and cooked with garlic and lemon juice, which soaks into the tender squash. Ground chicken or pork works just as well instead of the turkey if you like.

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1 pound ground turkey

1 lemon

1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt, plus more

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more

1 small red onion, cut into 12 wedges

½ cup everyday olive oil, divided

2 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise, cut crosswise into ¼-inch-thick half-moons

4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

Heat the oven to 450 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil.

Place the ground turkey in a medium bowl. Using a Microplane, finely grate the zest from the lemon into the turkey; reserve the lemon. Add the salt and pepper to the turkey and toss gently to mix the seasonings into the meat. Pinch off golf ball-sized pieces of turkey and roll them into balls; you should get 16. Place the meatballs on the prepared baking sheet.

Scatter the onion wedges around the meatballs, then drizzle everything with ¼ cup olive oil and season everything with a pinch of salt and pepper. Roast until the meatballs are cooked through and the onion wedges are just soft and lightly blistered, about 15 minutes.

While the meatballs roast, make the zucchini: Heat the remaining ¼ cup olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the zucchini, season liberally with salt and pepper, and toss to coat them in oil, then shake the pan so they settle in an even layer. Cook the zucchini, tossing only every 2 minutes, until lightly charred on the outside, 6 minutes.

Add the garlic to the zucchini, toss to combine and sauté until cooked through and the zucchini are tender, about 2 minutes more. Remove the pan from the heat and immediately squeeze the juice from half of the reserved lemon over the zucchini, tossing to combine. Divide the zucchini between two serving plates.

When the meatballs and onions are done, remove them from the oven and transfer to the plate with the zucchini. Serve while hot with a wedge of the remaining lemon half on the side to squeeze over the meatballs.

Ben Mims

Ben Mims is a former cooking columnist for the Los Angeles Times. He has written three cookbooks and has worked as a food editor and recipe developer for several food media publications, such as Lucky Peach, Food & Wine, Saveur, Food Network and Buzzfeed/Tasty.