Harissa Zucchini Turkey Meatball Wraps
August 16, 2018 by Nicole Collins
Happy Thursday everyone! And, welcome to Day 5!
So, I was taking inventory of all of the delicious food we've had (and will have) this week, and I was trying to decide which recipe is my favorite.
Picking a favorite recipe is like picking a favorite child (I'd imagine). You're not really supposed to do it. You're supposed to love them all the same. But, you inevitably can't help the fact that one edges the other out just a smidge.
So, though they're all truly my favorite, if one recipe this week had a little bit of a slight edge, it'd be the one we're having today.
And that may be solely because we're having naan bread today.
As I'm writing this post, I'm feeling a sense of irony. We started the week talking about how carbs are the hardest thing to manage (for me, at least) while we're on the 21 Day plan. But, I'm pretty sure every post I've written this week has been about some kind of carb.
That's either my subconscious saying “give me the good stuff, lady”; or it's me facing my demons.
Yeah, let's go with the latter.
So, I love naan bread for a thousand different reasons, but one of the biggest reasons is that it's a hearty, doughy portion of bread for a very reasonable carb count (if you follow the suggested serving size of half a piece of bread). That alone is one of the main reasons why I always use naan bread for pizzas instead of pizza dough.
You can get naan bread in lots of flavors and varieties too. You can get garlic naan, whole wheat naan, individual naan, individual wheat naan, and recently I've seen rectangular flatbread style naan. Can you really wonder why I love the stuff?
Though naan is pretty much the end all, be all in my book; it's not the star of our dish today. Because today, we're making Harissa Zucchini Turkey Meatball Wraps!
First off, I know that's a mouthful. But trust me, it's worth it.
Let's start with the meatballs. Beef is totally allowed on the 21 Day plan, but I've gotten to the point in my life where I prefer to sub in ground turkey for ground beef in recipes. If I'm going to be a thousand percent honest, it's not even because turkey is healthier for me. It's because it's cheaper than beef.
Turkey can get kind of a bad rep for being dry, so we're adding two things to our turkey meatballs that's going to prevent that from happening: harissa paste and shredded zucchini.
Harissa is a red pepper paste that has a little kick to it. It's perfectly spicy, and it's easily in my top 5 favorite ingredients to cook with. Zucchini is one of those vegetables that's GREAT at hiding in recipes. I just had a slice of lemon zucchini cake over the weekend, and I'd have never know there was zucchini in it had I not been told. Zucchini is great for adding moisture to make sure our meatballs don't get dry while they bake along with adding ½ a serving of veggies to your meal.
After we roast the meatballs, all that's left to do is assemble the wrap. Cut a slice of naan bread in half, add some fresh kale that's been massaged in a little evoo, salt, and pepper, pile your meatballs on top, give it a sprinkle of feta, and get ready to drizzle on our sauce.
The finishing touch to our wrap is just a simple mix of greek yogurt and harissa. The yogurt cools down the harissa while the harissa add some flavor and flare to the yogurt. And, you can't beat that extra little pop of protein.
The flavors and textures happening in this wrap are all the best elements of a savory dish: salty, spicy, creamy, crunchy, comforting, fresh...I could go on an on. You'll be saying sorry to all of the junk food in the world when you realize how incredibly delicious this healthy dish is.
Here's what else is on your list of healthy eats for today:
Breakfast: One container (5.3oz) or ½ cup greek yogurt in the flavor of your choice + 1 cup berries – 1 red, 1 purple
Snack: 2 tbsp almonds – half blue
Lunch: Tuna Wrap w/ Sprouts – 1 yellow, 1 red, ¼ green, 2 tsp
Snack: 1 cup celery sticks with 2 tbsp greek yogurt ranch – 1 green
Dinner: Harissa Zucchini Turkey Meatball Wraps – 1 yellow, 1 red, 1 green, ½ blue, 1 tsp
You guys have done such a great job this week, I've got a very special TREAT for you tomorrow! :-) See you then!
Let's eat!
Harissa Zucchini Turkey Meatball Wraps
Serves: 4 Print
Ingredients:
For the Meatballs:
1 lb ground turkey
1 zucchini, finely shredded
1 shallot, grated
1 egg
1 harissa paste
¾ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
For the Harissa Yogurt Sauce:
¼ cup plain greek yogurt
1 tbsp water
1 tsp harissa
For Serving:
2 original naan or 4 mini naan flatbreads
2 oz feta cheese, crumbled
2 cups kale, torn
1 tsp olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
Directions:
Make the Yogurt Sauce: In a small bowl, combine all ingredients for yogurt sauce. Stir until smooth and creamy. Set aside.
Make the Meatballs: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper. Place shredded zucchini in a clean kitchen towel, and squeeze out as much excess liquid as possible. Place zucchini in a mixing bowl. To the mixing bowl, add ground turkey, egg, harissa, shallot, salt, and pepper. Use your hands to gently combine the mix, being careful not to overwork the meat. Take about 2 tbsp of meat mix and roll in to a ball. Place on prepared baking sheet. Continue with remaining meat. You should have about 12 meatballs. Bake for 20-25 mins until the meatballs are cooked through and the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.
Meanwhile, massage the kale: In a mixing bowl, add torn kale, 1 tsp olive oil, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Using your hands, toss the kale with the olive oil, gently rubbing it through your fingers to help soften the kale.
To serve: Toast naan bread according to package directions. Cut each naan bread in half. (This is not necessary if you're using mini naan.) Divide kale evenly between naan. Top each naan with 3 meatballs, crumbled feta, and harissa yogurt sauce. Fold the naan around the filling like a taco. Wrap in parchment paper, if desired to help hold it together. Serve!
Recipe notes:
*If you're making this ahead, store each component individually in the fridge, and assemble when it's time to eat.
*Harissa can be spicy in some applications, but this is not one of them. The garlicky and peppery notes really shine in the meatballs and yogurt sauce.
*Massaging the olive oil into the kale with your hands helps to break it down and soften it a little bit. You won't get the same results if you just toss it with a spoon.
*Naan bread is one of my favorite things ever, but this would also be great in pita pockets.
*It's really important to get as much of the excess liquid as we can out of the zucchini. Squeeze, squeeze, and squeeze some more while it's wrapped in the kitchen towel.
*If you're watching carbs, you could skip the naan all together, make more kale and yogurt sauce, and eat this as a salad.
*Per serving, this is 1 yellow, 1 red, 1 green, ½ blue, 1 tsp
