I finally met a turkey meatball I love, after years of trying. Ground turkey is bland compared with beef and pork, which sets me up for a lackluster meatball. The texture is often problematic, too: dry, dense or both. But Ali Slagle, borrowing a trick from the cookbook author Julia Turshen, adds a good amount of ricotta cheese to the turkey mixture. The result is a pan of meatballs so tender that you can easily slice into them with a spoon as you scoop up saucy bites from your bowl.
When I made these meatballs for dinner last week, it was far too hot outside for a buttery sauce and mashed potatoes on the side, as the recipe suggests — delicious, but wintry. So I tossed about a pint of halved cherry tomatoes into the pan and let them cook down along with the meatballs, and then served it all with toast. Light, bright: This is my summer 2025 meatball dinner.
I will not be making meatballs this week, however — I’m heading to Chicago! Melissa Clark and I will be chatting about home cooking at the Chicago Humanities festival this Saturday, May 10, at the Ramova Theater at 11 a.m. Tickets are here. Chicagoans, I would love to meet you in person.
If in person can’t work, I hope you’ll drop me a line at [email protected]. I read every note.
I’m also making:
Grilled hamburgers and sausages; lemon ricotta pancakes.
1. Turkey-Ricotta Meatballs
Ground turkey can be tricky to work with — it’s relatively wet and sticks to your hands, making it difficult to roll a nice meatball. Ali’s solution is to lightly oil her hands before she starts shaping.
2. Sheet-Pan Salmon and Broccoli With Sesame and Ginger
I made this Lidey Heuck recipe last week, too, and my kids ate it with a side of rice. Victory! This is delicious and very doable on a busy evening — start the rice first, and then make the glaze for the salmon as the oven heats up.
3. Butter Paneer
I have paneer in the fridge all ready to go for this recipe from Zainab Shah, a streamlined take on the classic that’s still richly flavored and infused with heat. Use firm tofu instead of paneer if you’d like (a swap that makes the dish vegan).
4. Pork Chops With Jammy-Mustard Glaze
I grilled pork sausages last weekend for dinner with friends, and my older daughter requested hers served with jam. I don’t know where she got the idea, but it made sense to me. Pork and fruit are a good match — think pork chops with apples, tacos al pastor and this excellent recipe from Ali. The sausage pairing worked, too, and I promised my kid I’d tell you about it here.
5. Chickpea Picadillo
Ooh, a new recipe from Rick Martínez — you know it’ll be delicious. It’s a plant-based version of a Mexican picadillo, rife with chickpeas, mushrooms, grated tofu (which crisps up pleasingly in the pan), tomatillos, scallions and hot peppers. Serve with rice and beans, and I’d add tortillas, too.
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Emily Weinstein is the editor in chief of New York Times Cooking and Food. She also writes the popular NYT Cooking newsletter Five Weeknight Dishes.
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