Tonight’s cooking adventure was Spinach and Olive Tapenade Turkey Meatballs. The original recipe can be found here: http://www.pamperedchef.com/quick-and-easy-recipes/turkey_meatballs.jsp and page 10 of PC’s Fall/Winter 2011 Season’s Best cook book. I made some changes to lower the carbs.
Spinach and Olive Tapenade:
1 6 oz package of frozen spinach, thawed
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
2 garlic cloves
2 Tbsp of capers
12 large green olives, pitted
¼ cup of fresh basil leaves
¼ cup oil
¼ tsp salt
Juice from half a lemon
Blend the garlic, capers, and olives in a food processor until chopped. Add the spinach, basil, cheese, oil, lemon juice, and salt and blend until a chunky paste is formed.
Turkey Tapenade Meatballs:
¼ cup pork rind crumbs
1-2 cups of Spinach and Olive Tapenade, divided
1 egg
¼ tsp salt
1.5 lbs of ground turkey
Preheat oven to 400 F. Mix together the pork rind crumbs, ¾ cup tapenade, egg, and salt until combined. Then add the turkey and mix until combined. Form mixture into meatballs and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the meatballs reach 160 F. Drain excess liquid after 15 minutes of cooking. Once the meatballs are cooked, place ½ cup of tapenade and the meatballs in a large bowl and toss to coat. Add more tapenade to coat if necessary.
Pictures of the tapenade, meatball mixture, and scooped meatballs (pre-baking):
Net Carb Count*
Spinach and Olive Tapenade Turkey Meatballs: 21 net carbs (entire recipe)
*Note carb counts are estimated based on the products I used. Check nutrition labels for accurate carb counts.
Comments: I recently received my pampered chef products and I couldn’t wait to make the lower carb version of this recipe. These meatballs were so tasty! It was a different spin on old classic. The tapenade gives the meatballs a wonderful flavor. I left my tapenade a little chunkier, but you can process it until it is the consistency you prefer. I baked them in my PC Ridged Baker and they came out really juicy. I also used a small scooper (like an ice cream scoop) to form 45 meatballs. If you make larger meatballs, they may have a longer cooking time. If you like to have a sauce with your meatballs, some low carb marinara or gravy would be good with these meatballs.
UPDATE: I recently made the meatballs for a party and made a variation of the recipe. I added a few slices of red bell pepper to the tapenade and I added a little extra tapenade to the meatball mixture. I cooked them as normal, but once cooked I added the meatballs to a crockpot with 2 cups (or enough to coat very well) of marinara sauce (instead of coating in more tapenade). I simmered the meatballs on LOW to keep warm. The marinara sauce I use has 8 net carbs for 2 cups. Even the non LCers loved them!
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