Ok and now, back to dinner.
My sister has been sick and I have been doing my best to drive down each month with a few meals so the pressure is off her to feed the family. Because even when you are sick, you can't escape the pressure of dinner, which sucks. She escaped to my house for a few nights last month, and I revived an old favorite for her. This is one of my jotted-on-a-crumpled-stained-sticky-note favorites, from a friend I used to work with. She shared a few more winners with me, and when I locate those sticky-notes, I'll blog them too. Enjoy!
Chicken lemon meatballs
I usually double the recipe to serve 4 and a few left over...if you are lucky...
Most of the time, I serve this with couscous I've fancied-up with curry powder, chopped sautéed veggies, currants, pine nuts or almonds, and lots of salt and pepper.
1/3 cup soft, coarse fresh breadcrumbs (don’t use crusts)
2 tbs. fresh lemon juice - maybe some zest if you are motivated to zest
1 lb. freshly ground lean chicken (light and dark meat) or ground turkey breast
3/4 tsp. kosher salt
2 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste - optional
2 Tbs. finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2/3 cup minced onion, sautéed in 2 tbs. butter or olive oil until translucent
2 tbs. olive oil
2 tbs. butter
Make the meatballs:
In a large bowl, soak the breadcrumbs in the lemon juice until plumped and the liquid is absorbed, about 5 minutes. Add the ground chicken or turkey, salt, paprika, cumin, pepper flakes, parsley, and sautéed onions, along with the oil in the pan. Mix gently but thoroughly. Shape into 1-1/2-inch meatballs; maybe 20 per lb of meat. I use a one ounce scoop with a spring release.
To fry: In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and butter over medium-high heat. When the butter has melted, add the meatballs (take care not to crowd the pan) and cook, turning gently, until browned on 2 or 3 sides and cooked through, about 8 minutes total. Transfer to a 350 oven to finish cooking and hold until all meatballs are cooked.
I will often fry first and finish in the oven to be sure the meatballs are cooked thorough. Frying is such a mess though. And mine don't keep that round meatball shape. So sometimes I just bake them...
To bake: place meatballs on an oiled rack/pan and bake at 350 for 20 minutes. This is the easiest, least messy option. You will want a rack pan that can catch the juices, which you'll use for the sauce.
Then finish sauce in the skillet: add a 2 tbsp each of butter and flour to the pan and gently brown for three minutes (make a roux) then deglaze the pan with a 2 cups of chicken broth. Finish the sauce with a half a cup of heavy cream and salt and pepper to taste. Nestle the cooked meatballs and any remaining juice they released into the sauce and return to a simmer before serving
To finish if baked: Add a 2 tbsp each of butter and flour to the pan and gently brown for three minutes (make a roux). Scrape the browned bits and juice from the base of the rack pan into the roux then deglaze the pan with a 2 cups of chicken broth. Finish the sauce with half cup of heavy cream and salt and pepper to taste. Nestle the cooked meatballs and any remaining juice they released into the sauce and return to a simmer.
