Cubetti-Dotted Turkey Meatballs

I had never baked meatballs - until I did a book review of The Bengali Five Spice Chronicle. Now it's one of my favorite ways to cook meatballs. I whipped up a double batch for Riley's birthday picnic and served them with a sheeps' milk yogurt from Garden Variety Cheese in Royal Oaks. They were a hit!

Meatballs
2 pounds ground turkey

2 eggs
1 C cubetti (diced pancetta)

1/2 C ground almonds

2 T diced shallots and garlic, sauteed in butter until softened and beginning to caramelize

1/2 t ground cumin

1/4 t ground coriander

dash of paprika

freshly ground salt

freshly ground pepper

Mix all of the ingredients together well. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking pan with foil. Form tablespoon-sized meatballs - or larger if you like - and place them on your baking sheet. They will shrink, so you can place them fairly close together. Bake for 30-35 minutes.

Yogurt Sauce

1 C sheeps' milk yogurt

1/2 t crushed garlic

1 T dukkah*

2 T fresh herbs (use whatever you have on-hand, I used Italian flat-leaf parsley)

1 T fresh lemon juice

Mix everything together in a bowl. Chill until ready to serve.