Orange Garlic Ground Turkey

I've never minded ground turkey - it has its time and place. Coming from South Africa, where ground turkey and chicken aren't really a thing my husband never appreciated when I tried to slip ground turkey in place of ground beef. I've tried with meatballs, tacos, bolognese, burgers, he just doesn't really like it, and I understand. Ground turkey tends to be less full of flavor, and dryer, and why use turkey when you can use beef? I hear that. But, lean ground turkey is much lower in fat and healthier than beef, so in my continuing effort to try and make it something that I can serve as a meal and actually have approval for - I decided to try once more... and it was a success!

I got the idea for this dish when a friend made Korean Beef last week for dinner one night. She sent me a link to a recipe and it reminded me of a dish that we used to get regularly at Ready To Go (RTG) in Johannesburg. It was spicy, packed with flavor, served over rice, and so so good. I had a craving for that dish (and I plan to try and re-create it one day soon) but I decided to try something a little lighter first. So, this dish is easy to make, it used one pan, took about 20 minutes, and is packed with flavor. Most of all: it used 97% lean turkey meat, and my husband said it was delicious! This is one is definitely going to be added into circulation.

ORANGE GARLIC GROUND TURKEY

Ingredients

1 pound lean ground turkey

1/2 tsp fresh ginger, minced

4 cloves fresh garlic, minced

1/8 tsp crushed red chili pepper

4 tablespoons water

6 Tbsp rice vinegar

1/8 C soy sauce

2 Tbsp honey

zest of 1 orange

1/4 tsp sesame oil 2 Tbsp sesame seeds

1/4 C green onions, finely chopped

Directions

To make the sauce combine the water, rice vinegar, soy sauce, honey, orange zest, sesame oil, and sesame seeds (reserve some to top with for serving)

In a large pan add 1 tablespoon oil (I of course use my garlic infused olive oil) and ground turkey

Cook until a good crust forms, and the meat is brown and begin breaking it apart, then finish cooking by breaking it apart with a spatula and cooking for an additional 2-3 minutes.

Once the chicken is cooked add the ginger, garlic and crushed red pepper and cook for about 10 seconds

Add the orange sauce and bring to boil

Top with finely chopped green onions