Lean protein option coupled with Orzo as alternative to the usual pasta for your carbohydrate.

These meatballs are irresistibly tasty and moist – no bland Turkey here! The waft of the pesto-flavoured Orzo it is nested within also fills your kitchen with a delicious smell.

Ingredients

For the meatballs:

• Turkey mince (about 600g, 7% fat)
• 1/2 cup Panco breadcrumbs
• 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1/2 grated onion
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/3 cup Greek yoghurt
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 beef stock cube, crumbled
• Salt & pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon light olive oil

For the Orzo

• 2 beef stock cubes dissolved in 2 cups of water
• 2 cups of Orzo
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup green basil Pesto

Method

Heat the oven to 180 degrees celcius and make the meatballs.

Mix all the meatball ingredients, except the olive oil, together, then roll into balls and and set aside.

In a wide-based, oven safe and lidded frying pan or casserole, heat the olive oil, and when hot, start browning the meatballs for about 2 min on each side. You only want to sear them all over, do not overcook them as they will cook through in the oven later.

**Be careful, these meatballs do stick to the pan and remain quite soft in texture so you need to keep an eye on them while you brown. (Compared to beef mince, turkey is quite dry so while the added ingredients ensure they are tasty and moist at the end, those ingredients also increase the risk of the meatballs burning when you brown them)

Add the Orzo to the pan (scattered around the meatballs) with the 2 cups of stock, Pesto and 1 cup of water. Season with salt & pepper. Gently mix together, being careful not to break the meatballs in the process.

Place the lid on the pan and into the hot oven for 5 minutes.

Check the dish, mix everything through carefully, and return to the oven with the lid on for the final 5 min.

This dish cooks in 10min with 1 cup of Orzo, however, if you use more then remember to adjust the timing.

Serve as is, or sprinkle over grated parmesan cheese and enjoy.