Turkey Meatballs

Holy crap, these are good! I'd never tried cooking with ground turkey before, but when I noticed at my grocery that it's both cheaper and healthier than ground beef, I thought I'd give it a go. Orangette provided a recipe for me to riff on, and I was ready to cook.

And oh man, these are fabulous. Even my red-meat-and-potatoes parents loved these. They're fast, easy, and delicious. What more could I ask of a first experiment with turkey? I think I'll be using it more often.

Turkey Meatballs

1 lb ground turkey meat
1 medium onion, diced
2 eggs
2 tbsp fresh basil, shredded
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup plain fine bread crumbs
1/2 tsp salt
Pepper
Cumin (a few shakes. I probably used 1/2 tsp, all told)
Olive oil

Mix everything except the olive oil together in a large bowl. Use your hands and get it all gooey, but try to avoid overmixing, since that just makes the turkey tougher. Make little balls about an inch wide (lean towards the smaller here; larger take too long to cook and the bottoms might get burnt) out of the mix. Heat a thin film of olive oil to just over medium heat, and saute your meatballs in batches so they don't get too crowded (too close together and they steam instead of sauteing, which ruins the consistency). Turn them as they color on the bottom so that all sides get evenly cooked. When they're done (check one with a fork if in doubt), drain them on a plate with a paper towel to catch any excess oil.