Chicken Meatballs with Parmigiano Reggiano

I'm still here!  We took our first group vacation since 2020 with good friends and, since then, it's been a mixture of various commitments, a little procrastination and lack of inspiration.  However, after enjoying a delicious appetizer of chicken meatballs served in a wonderful savory sauce at a local restaurant we enjoy, I was determined to try and replicate the recipe at home.  Inspiration found! 

I adapted this recipe slightly from one I found on Skinny Taste.  It's basically a riff on Chicken Romano and Chicken Piccata and it's wonderful!  I wanted to use chicken thigh meat but couldn't find any already ground. So, I used my Kitchen Aid meat grinder attachment and ground my own.  Any ground chicken will do, so don't feel you have to grind your own or ask your meat department to grind it for you. 😉

The meatballs have all the standard meatball ingredients of bread crumbs and egg, along with Parmigiano Reggiano, herbs, seasonings and garlic.  I have a large container of Parmiginao Reggiano from Costco which makes putting these together easy. 

After browning the meatballs in batches (don't crowd them), they are set aside while you make the sauce, which is a delicious combination of shallots, garlic, chicken broth, white wine and lemon. It's amazing! Feel free to add capers if you like them. 

This recipe is light, delicious and perfect for spring (which has been slow to arrive this year!)  Serve with rice, pasta, a salad or simple vegetable and enjoy!

Tip: When you harvest your herbs this season, be sure to freeze plenty.  I used frozen chopped parsley from my freezer for this recipe and all my frozen herbs throughout the winter. I harvest parsley (both Italian and curly), oregano, chives, thyme (I freeze the whole stems), and rosemary. Use your salad spinner to clean, then either chop them or put whole into freezer bags.   You'll be glad you did next winter!  

Chicken Meatballs with Parmigiano Reggiano

Printable Recipe

Meatballs

1 pound ground chicken (chicken thighs preferred)

1 large egg, stirred with a fork gently

½ cup bread crumbs

⅓ cup Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1/2 teaspoon fresh or dried basil

½ teaspoon fresh or dried oregano

½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

2 large cloves of garlic, minced

3/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon pepper

Sauce

1 small shallot, diced (about 1 tablespoon

2 large garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup dry white wine, like chardonnay

2 cups chicken broth

1 lemon, preferably organic, sliced

1 tablespoon capers, chopped (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine the ground chicken with the egg, bread crumbs, cheese, parsley, dried basil, oregano, pepper flakes, garlic, salt and pepper. Mix until just combined - don't overmix. Shape the mixture into golf ball sized meatballs and return to the bowl.  Refrigerate for 1 hour. 

 

Heat an oven-safe skillet over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the meatballs in a single layer without crowding, browning on all sides, cooking about 5 to 6 minutes in total. You can do this in batches if you have a small skillet.  Just brown them and remove - they will finish cooking in the oven.  Transfer all browned meatballs to a large plate. 

In the same skillet over medium heat, add the shallots and garlic and cook, stirring until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the white wine, scraping any brown bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.  Add the chicken stock and lemons and simmer gently for about 5-10 minutes until slightly reduced.  Add the meatballs to the sauce in the pan.  

Bake for 15 minutes, or until the meatballs cooked through.  Serve with pasta, rice or a vegetable.

Meatballs with Parsley and Homemade Marinara

It has been a cool summer here in the Midwest so pasta is tasting unusually good for this time of year. With fresh garden tomatoes coming to the farmer's markets or perhaps into your garden, I thought these recipes would be fun to share.

Freshly chopped tomatoes or homemade tomato puree substituted for canned ingredients make an even fresher-tasting marinara.

 
I will be freezing whole tomatoes to make pasta sauce and soup during the winter!

Meatballs with Parsley and Parmesan

Recipe adapted from Bon Appétit, June 1996
Printable Recipe

Makes about 44 meatballs

I substituted mayonnaise for the olive oil in the original recipe after reading the comment section of the recipe. It works great!

Ingredients:

4 large eggs
1/2 cup fresh French breadcrumbs or Panko breadcrumbs or a combination of both
6 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
3 large garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
Red pepper flakes (optional)
2 pounds of meatloaf mix or 2/3 pound lean ground beef, 2/3 pound ground veal and 2/3 pound ground pork

Preparation :

Preheat oven to 400F. Stir eggs, breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, 3 tablespoons mayonnaise, oil, parsley, garlic, 1 teaspoon salt and pepper in large bowl to blend. Add ground beef and mix thoroughly. Form mixture into 1 1/2-inch diameter meatballs and arrange on a rack over a rimmed cookie sheet. Bake in preheated oven for 30-40 minutes. You can also saute the meatballs in olive oil in your prefer.

Add cooked meatballs to your favorite marinara sauce and simmer until flavors are blended. Serve over cooked pasta. Top with some freshly grated parmesan and fresh basil chiffonade and enjoy!

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Mama's Marinara
Recipe Courtesy Rocco DiSpirito
Printable Recipe

Serves 6

3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 yellow onion, peeled and chopped
3 tbsp olive oil
Chili flakes to taste
2 28-ounce cans tomato puree (I used my garden tomatoes)
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes (I used my garden tomatoes)
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp sugar
1 cup chicken stock
Red pepper flakes to taste
Salt to taste

Heat the olive oil in a large sauce pot (large enough to hold all of the rest of the ingredients) over medium heat. Saute the garlic and onion about 10 minutes or until garlic is tender and onions translucent, but do not brown. Add the chili flakes to taste.

Stir in all the tomato ingredients. Add the chicken stock into one of the 28-oz cans and fill it the to the top with water and add that plus the sugar to the pot. Stir and bring to a simmer. Season with salt to taste and cover. Simmer the sauce for approximately 1 hour. The sauce should be thin, but not watery. Uncover and simmer longer if it is too thin or add a little water if is too thick.