Turkey & Lentil Meatballs in Tomato Sauce

Ingredients

• 500 g turkey mince
• 150 g cooked Puy or green lentils
• 1 egg
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 30 g fresh breadcrumbs
• salt and black pepper
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 30 g parmesan, grated
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
• 1 large onion, finely diced
• 0.5 tsp chilli flakes
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• fresh basil and pasta or polenta, to serve

Method

1. Mix the turkey mince, lentils, egg, breadcrumbs, garlic, oregano, smoked paprika, and parmesan in a large bowl. Season generously with salt and black pepper — turkey is lean and needs it. Roll into 20 walnut-sized balls and chill for 10 minutes if you have time; cold meatballs hold their shape when they hit the pan.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large, wide stainless or cast-iron pan over medium-high heat. Brown the meatballs in two batches for 3–4 minutes, turning, until deeply golden all over. Don't crowd the pan — all at once and water comes out, the temperature drops, and you've stewed them instead of building a crust. They won't be cooked through yet; that comes later. Remove to a plate.
3. Add the remaining oil to the same pan — those brown stuck bits on the base are flavour, leave them. Cook the onion and grated carrot together for 7–8 minutes, stirring now and then, until softened and the carrot has melted into the onion. Add the garlic, oregano, paprika-warm chilli flakes and bloom them in the oil for 30–60 seconds until fragrant — raw spices taste dusty, bloomed ones taste of themselves. Watch the garlic; pale gold is what you want, burnt turns the whole sauce bitter.
4. Tip in the chopped tomatoes and the chopped roasted red pepper. Fill one of the empty tins a quarter of the way with water, swirl to catch the last of the tomato, and add that to the pan — the liquid breaks the tomatoes down so the sauce tastes of summer fruit, not heated tin. Scrape the fond off the base with your spoon. Season with salt and pepper and bring to a steady simmer.
5. Return the meatballs to the pan, nestling them into the sauce. Cover and cook over low heat for 20 minutes, turning them once halfway, until the meatballs are cooked through and the sauce has thickened and gone glossy.
6. Taste, season, taste again — adjust now, not at the table. A good pinch more salt usually wakes the tomatoes up.
7. If you're serving with pasta, salt the pasta water generously — it should taste like the sea. This is your only chance to season the pasta itself. Cook to the packet's lower time so it stays with bite.
8. Spoon the meatballs and sauce over the pasta or soft polenta, tear the fresh basil leaves across the top, and finish with a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and extra parmesan at the table.