Pesto and Mozarella Meatballs with Pasta

I think I have found my new go to quick family meal .

I will spare you the details of who eats what when I make the traditional pasta and meatballs. Who wants spaghetti , who wants penne , who wants sauce and who only nibbles at their meatballs before they declare they are full to the hilt and who looks at the sauce under a microscope before they will even contemplate eating the meal.

Once again we sat down to a meal that sought of came together in stages , when my little gourmet declared " you have to put this on your blog" . Mind you, this was after I had served everyone , I looked into the bowl and there was barely enough left to qualify a well presented dish ....... but taking into account how much I am flying by the seat of my pants lately, we should be grateful for small miracles.

So , out comes the camera and with the light of the evening dinner table , and everyone collectively holding their breaths - I took the photo. Once again please forgive and understand presentation is lacking in this photo - but taste is certainly not lacking .

Welcome to pasta with turkey meatballs , made with basil pesto and fresh mozarella. They are delicious and light, a wonderful break from the traditional tomato based sauce and a hit with the whole family .

I started making turkey meatballs with pesto and provolone cheese for customers when I had my  catering business happening and they were always a hit . In this particular case I knew I wanted meatballs, I had excess fresh mozarella left over from pizza night and I am staring at my basil plants in the pot contemplating beautiful dishes.

Confession up front, the pesto is store brought however the meatballs have fresh basil from my garden . My preference of late is ground turkey , I am sure this recipe will also work well with ground beef - I would recommend a mix 50/50 of ground sirloin and ground round.

So go ahead and make this dish - enjoy it during these summer months and I am sure it will become a family staple.


Pesto and Mozarella Meatballs with Pasta
a GG original recipe

1lb ground turkey meat 93% lean
1 large fresh mozarella ball
1/2 -3/4 cup coarsely grated parmesan/asiago /pecorino mix , or to taste
kosher salt
freshly ground pepper
6 large fresh basil leaves , julienned
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
fat free milk - to moisten the breadcrumbs
basil pesto
canola oil

pasta of your choice

Combine all ingredients except the basil pesto. Add the fresh mozarella to the mixture by cutting it up into little chunks with your hands - they do not have to be perfect a shape. Or you can grate it coarsely on a box grater .

Once you have combined all of the above ingredients - flatten out the mixture in the bowl slightly, then drop dollops of the pesto over the mixture - then with your hands fold the meat mixture into itself gently so that you do not end up with a green meatball mixture - but rather  little pockets of pesto , little pockets of mozarella .

Place the mixture in the fridge for a couple of hours before forming into meatball.

Meanwhile prepare your choice of pasta according to packet directions.

Preheat your oven to 400F and preheat a non stick pan , add a little canola oil. Remove the meatball mixture form the fridge and form into meatballs either using a small- icecream scoop or free form . Shallow fry in the canola oil  then finish cooking them in the oven for about 8-10 minutes depending on their size. They will not be cooked in any sauce therefore you need to make sure they are cooked thoroughly.

Once the pasta is cooked , add some pesto ( to taste) in the bottom of the bowl and add the pasta with a little bit of the pasta water to the bowl ( this helps to loosen up the pesto) - toss thoroughly to combine then place the pesto meatballs on top and serve with a salad.

Cuban Inspiration

I am writing this post in the recovery phase of 4th of July festivities . Just got back form a wonderful lunch with friends , which we have enjoyed for the past few years, following the parade through our village streets.

Several weeks ago , I lamented the fact that I had not posted anything for May , of this year , and half the battle , excuse was because I would make something then eat it - then , realise I did not take a photo of the meal - and it was super delicious .......

So , a few weeks ago I purchases some ground turkey for burgers , has just flicked through a Sara Foster cookbook and was inspired by her Cuban Turkey Burger recipe. Because I always like to put my own twist on the everyday mundane , I thought it would be nice to incorporate some interesting flavors to what is otherwise an american summer staple.

Welcome to turkey burgers with a gourmet goddess twist.

Firstly , let me say that I have grown to love turkey meat for burgers - more than beef burgers . Not only for the health aspect of less fat - I feel that have a more delicious flavour and you can add more things to them , that many times just do not work out for beef burgers.

To make these Cuban inspired I have added some basic Latino staples such as black beans, cumin, cilantro, red onion and bell peppers . I know you are probably reading this and wondering how this all works . They were delicious . Approved by my little gourmets, raised eyebrows with my picky gourmet (a.k.a husband...... love you Deno) and absolutely inhaled by the gourmet goddess . But wait there is more - a secret ingredient ..... and the secret ingredient was bbq sauce - homemade no less !!!

I did not follow a recipe and neither did i adhere to strict measurements. I just added things as I went along and looked at the colourful combination created and adjusted accordingly . I have to say that the addition of cumin and bbq sauce really added a depth of flavour and deliciousness that made the ordinary hamburger - extraordinary.

I hope over the coming summer months you have a chance to enjoy the chance to experiment with different flavours and textures for turkey burgers - we enjoyed these on a nice sourdough buns, lettuce and a smear of bbq sauce on the bun and some yummy organic blue corn and flax seed tortilla chips.

Happy summer and burger and eating .

Cuban Turkey Burgers

ground turkey meat ( 93% lean)

black beans - rinsed and drained

red and yellow bell peppers - small dice

red onion - small dice

2-3 green onions , green parts as well

small handful of fresh cilantro - sprigs only

1 teaspoon ground cumin

salt and pepper

bbq sauce , of choice

panko breadcrumbs

fat free milk

lettuce leaves

provolone or cheddar cheese , to put on top

sourdough or very hearty wholewheat buns

blue corn chips

This recipe is just guidelines , depending on the amount of ground meat  you want to use you adjust the other ingredients accordingly. Place the panko breadcrumbs in a bowl and cover with the milk , stir to combine and allow the breadcrumbs to absorb all the milk . they should be moist and not dry before you add them to the burger mixture , add more milk if needed.

Grill accordinly to well done and with a slight char on the burger , toast the buns a little - it makes then a lot more tasty .

If you prefer your burgers not to have breadcrumbs - just omit - and look more to the melting pot of flavours rather than the strict adherence to amounts.

Albuquerque Dip to die for

Hi everyone .


Happy 4th of July , the weather is July perfect , rising humidity, rising heat and frazzled parents . Well, I enjoyed drinks on my patio the other day with my friend Sharon , and somehow we managed to put away one bottle of wonderful organic Malbec , dip , chips and conversation in a timeframe of 2 hours - and still keep our heads clear . Hence , I cannot explain the touch.... hint of blurriness of the photo .


Sharon came bearing gifts , one of which was this delicious dip - with a post-it note stuck to it - letting me know I could not enjoy this deliciousness for at least 24 hours . What is a gourmet goddess to do - but bide her time , it looked very colourful and smelt amazing .


The recipe has travelled along way , all the way from Albuquerque New Mexico , via a friend of Sharons, from a restauruant which escapes everyones memory . To this restaurant , I acknowledge you and thank you for inventing this wonderful dip .


It is not your typical soft serve dip , it is chunky, it is moreish and received outstanding approvals from both my little gourmets. It is a collusion of Mediterranean and Mexican flavours , you have olives, balsamic ( in this case it was made with red wine vinegar - due to allergies .....I still think it tasted awesome) corn, cilantro and beans. I tweaked it a bit because I think kalamata olivess would give a greater taste than tinned olives - and I urger you make it with deli brought olives rather than tinned ones .


This would be great served as a side dish with any grilled meat , served with rice - but we enjoyed it on its own with blue corn chips.


I urge you all make this , put it away in your fridge and enjoy it tomorrow with your 4th of July festivities .


Albuquerque Dip
from a restaurant in NM


3 tbls Balsamic vinegar
1 can small chopped green chilies
3 tbsl taco seasoning
2 ripe diced tomatoes
3 tabsp olive oil
1 tbsp sugar
2 garlic cloves ( finely chopped or put through a garlic press )

1 cup pitted kalamata olives , sliced
1 cup pitted green olives roughly chopped
1 bunch green onions chopped - white and green part
1 15 oz pinto beans 
10oz bag of white frozen corn - try making it with the yellow and white corn
1-2 cups Mexican shreddes cheese * read my note in the method


Put everything in a bowl except the cheese , I would recommend the prepackaged Mexican cheese mix , or you can really make it special by crumbling some Mexican Chichuaua cheese . If you are not a huge fan of balsamic you can swap it out for good quality red wine vinegar .

Chicken Pesto Salad

I am back , it has been a while since my last post . Cannot even believe I allowed May to pass me by without even an attempt at posting........ needless to say many a delicious dishes were made and consumed in this time . Believe me when I tell you , I felt pangs of bloggers guilt for not sharing even an insight into what we were enjoying at the dinner table .

May, as a rule is probably the busiest month of the school year . Why? I hear you ask - well it is when everything and I mean everything , except school wraps up for the year . It is a month filled with recitals for .... let me see (1) chorus, (2) piano , (3) school play .... etc etc etc . Mum is run ragged running from one rehearsal to another , the miles on the car are piling on , and all I can think about as I am waiting in the pick up line is ..... " what are we having tonight for dinner ?" and will I have time to at least photograph it ???

Hence , from my lack of postings you have all figured out the answer for the past month .

I did promise myself that June would not be like that - I now had no excuse - or let me refrase that , limited excuses for not posting anything . I did actually achieve one goal of photographing a few dishes , and I am embarrassed to say it is only a few dishes. This dish was bourne out of both  desperation and inspiration and trying to get dinner on the table in a "one dish" affair. So, you may well be asking yourself why it is not plated nicely, why does it look like the bottom of the salad bowl when I took a picture !" . Because it was at this moment I realised this salad needs to be posted and photographed .

The first time I made this dish it was just me and my little gourmets for dinner , hubby was working late - deadlines to be met and dinner does not wait when there are hungry little gourmets to feed.

In an effort to broaden their palates , expecially my little little gourmet , I have instigated a rule that when I ask them about ingredients I put in a dish , to which they concur they will eat , then they have to eat it .

This dish combines eveything I love with a nice balance of protein, carbohydrates and delicious crunchy vegetables . It has been ispired by a myriad of tv chefs, magazine articles and visits to beautiful food bars. There are no rules as far as quantities go , or what you would like to include in your salad . I always say make a dish look pretty and your stomach will be happy with the anticipation.

This dish actually made my little gourmets eat with ravenous speed , sugar snap peas - in their raw and deliciously sweet state . I would have to say that was my secret vegetable ingredient. The dressing is nothing more than pesto - pure and simple.

Feel free to make your own salad , it stores well in the fridge , it is great enjoyed straight from the fridge or you can allow it to come to room temperature. You can change the colours of the peppers- you can add some feta cheese or shavings of parmesan , olives etc etc - you are inhibited only by your imagination.

GG Chicken Pesto Salad

an original GG dish 

1 packet penne pasta 

chicken tenders or rotisserie chicken 

yellow bell peppers

sugar snap peas 

cucumbers 

red onion 

basil pesto 

Cook pasta according to packet directions , drain and rinse slightly to get rid of the starchy water . Allow to cool . 

Prepare chicken tenders to your family's liking or use a store brought rotisserie chicken, shredded into large bite size chunks.

In a large bowl add all the vegetable ingredients you are using , add the pasta and chicken, toss to combine then add as much or as little pesto you would like. Toss well to combine and serve.