Lemon Parsley Turkey Meatballs with Lemon Coconut Curry Sauce and Lemon-Coconut Rice

Happy Hump Day!! Hump Daaaay!

Can you believe it’s already the end of JULY?!?! August will be here in a matter of days, which means that my 35th birthday will be here in a matter of weeks. How in the world am I about to be 35?? I mean, wasn’t I just turning 25 a couple of years ago?? Well, I can’t be too upset. I mean, it’s just a number and I don’t feel like I’m getting older. Most days, anyway. I have a pretty good little life goin’ on over here, so instead of freaking out about getting another year older, I just thank the good Lord for giving me another year!

One indication of getting older, however, is realizing how much the things that excite you change. Like, home appliances and new recipes. Instead of a new outfit or going out to party. Yep. Those are signs of getting older and more responsible and domesticated and stuff.

I may be just a leetle bit too excited about sharing this post with you. Don’t be fooled by all the “lemon” in the title, though. Yes, it’s lemony, but it’s subtle. No part of this dinner is overly lemony or tart. Not that I would mind that, personally, but not everyone has love for the lemon like I do.

The idea started off as just meatballs and rice, but then I was like…wait, we have to have a sauce too!! I perused the pantry and started pulling ingredients. I recently discovered that cooking rice with coconut milk is like, the best thing eva. And it makes a purdy good sauce, too. And wouldn’t you know, I just happened to have two lovely cans of it sitting in the pantry, just begging to be used. And a bag of bright, beautiful lemons.

I’ve seen the coconut and lime combo used in many forms, but I’m not sure I’ve seen coconut and lemon very much. Other than dessert. It had to be good, though. I mean…it’s lemon for cryin’ out loud. Oh, and then I had this snazzy idea to really jazz up the sauce…adding curry powder!

I’ll be honest…I wasn’t sure if it was going to work. I mean, sure I’ve made sauces in the past that used coconut milk, lime juice and curry paste, but did that mean that the powder and lemon juice would work as well? You just never know when you try something new, but taking the risk is half the fun! Thankfully it worked out and the sauce was amazing. Like, I wanted to just eat it with a spoon, amazing.

The reason I like using coconut milk when I cook brown rice is that it keeps the rice moist and a little creamy in texture. Keeps it from drying out, and it gives it a good flavor!

Then of course you throw in some lemon zest and juice and a little parsley at the end, and you’ve got yourself some very non-boring rice! Lemon zest, y’all…fo’ reals. It’s da bomb diggity.

Am I that old lady trying to use the old school cool lingo, from like 1999? Sigh.

And just look how fluffy it is?? No dry, hard rice here. Fluffy and moist and full of flavor! And then when you pour that delicious sauce over it with the meatballs…heaven, my friends. The hardest part will be to not stuff yourself silly because it’s so good and you want to keep eating it.

There are worse problems to have, of course, than a great dinner, but ya know…portion control and all that jazz.

I must have sampled the sauce like eleventy-bajillion times to make sure the flavor profile was just right. I didn’t want it too lemony, or too curry-y (uh…?) I wanted the right balance of flavors, and luckily, that’s exactly what I got.

The turkey meatballs had a nice sear on the outside and they were moist, with just a hint of lemon flavor to them.

Once I plated them on top of the rice and then drenched them in the sauce…all three components came together perfectly.

Bite of turkey meatball with rice and sauce…yes. Yes, please. Shovel in mouth, and repeat. And, if you lick your plate at the end so you don’t waste a drop of that sauce, I won’t tell a soul. It’ll be our little plate-licking secret.

Lemon, coconut, and curry powder join forces to make turkey meatballs, brown rice and a sauce that it so amazing it will make you lick your plate…what more could you want??

Lemon Parsley Turkey Meatballs with Lemon Coconut Curry Sauce and Lemon-Coconut Rice

A Sweet Beginnings Original

Ingredients

 

Lemon-Parsley Turkey Meatballs

• 1 lb lean ground turkey
• Zest and juice of 2 lemon
• ¼ cup parsley, chopped
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/3 cup Panko bread crumbs
• 1 egg
• 1 Tbsp olive oil

Lemon Coconut Curry Sauce

• 1 can (plus the remaining the can used for the brown rice) coconut milk
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 2 tsp curry powder (yellow)
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Lemon-Coconut Brown Rice

• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1 cup water or chicken broth
• Juice and zest of 1 lemon
• 1 cup brown rice (I used Tex-mati)
• ¼ cup parsley, chopped

Preparation

1. Start your rice first as it will take 45 minutes or so to cook. Place the coconut milk, water or broth, lemon juice and rice into a medium sauce pan over high heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 45 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat and let sit for a few minutes before stirring in chopped parsley.
2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine all of the meatball ingredients, except the olive oil. Gently mix with our hands until well combined. Use a medium cookie scoop or tablespoon to scoop out the meatball mixture, then form smooth balls with your hands. Place on a plate and repeat until all the meatball mixture is gone.
3. When the rice has about 20 minutes left to cook, heat the tablespoon of olive oil for the meatballs in a large skillet over medium-high heat and swirl around to coat the bottom of the pan. Once hot, add the meatballs so that they are not touching – you may have to do a couple of batches. Cook for 2-3 minutes per side, until all sides are browned. Remove to plate and repeat with second batch, if necessary. When the second batch is done, add the first batch back into the skillet with the second batch. Reduce the heat to medium.
4. While the meatballs are cooking, place all of the sauce ingredients in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Heat sauce, stirring occasionally, while the meatballs cook. Once the meatballs are done and all back in the skillet, carefully pour the sauce into the skillet over the meatballs.
5. Allow the sauce and meatballs to simmer for 5-10 minutes, until the sauce thickens slightly and the meatballs are cooked all the way through.
6. Serve the meatballs and sauce over the rice, with your favorite veggie side. Don’t be stingy with the sauce, there’s plenty to go around!