Today's recipe is a good one! I was recently pouring over Giada De Laurentiis' cookbook:
Giada's Kitchen, when I came across this dish. I knew I had to make it. It didn't seem very complicated and it sounded delicious. Plus, I'd never made meatballs before. I was kind of excited to try my hand at it for the first time! I liked the ingredients the recipe called for, like mozzarella balls and cherry tomatoes, as it gave me the feeling that it was healthy dish. Verdict: It was very good! I made it for Sunday dinner and ended up eating it for lunch
and dinner on Monday as well.
I did make a some changes, like using ground turkey instead of chicken and Parmesan in place of Romano. I didn't find Orecchiette, so I used small Farfalle (bow ties), and so on with a few other changes. Follow the recipe exactly, or modify it to fit what you have on hand, it will still come out tasting delicious! (By the way, I enjoyed looking over the recipes in this cookbook, they look yummy and not overly complicated. The Garlic and Sun-dried Tomato Corn Muffins are calling my name. Check it out right
here.)
Orecchiette with Mini Chicken Meatballs
Source: Giada's Kitchen/
foodnetwork.com
- 1 pound orecchiette pasta
- 1/4 cup plain bread crumbs
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 tablespoon whole milk
- 1 tablespoon ketchup
- 3/4 cup grated Romano
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken stock, hot
- 4 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
- 8 ounces bocconcini mozzarella, halved
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over
high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the
bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together the bread crumbs, parsley, eggs, milk, ketchup, Romano cheese, and the salt and pepper. Add the chicken and gently stir to combine.
3. Using a melon baller
(or a teaspoon measure), form the chicken mixture into 3/4-inch pieces.
With damp hands, roll the chicken pieces into mini meatballs.
4. In a large (14-inch) skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat.
Working in batches, add the meatballs and cook without moving until
brown on the bottom, about 2 minutes. Turn the meatballs over and brown
the other side, about 2 minutes longer. Add the chicken stock and
tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Using a wooden spoon, scrape up the brown
bits that cling to the bottom of the pan. Reduce heat to low and simmer
until tomatoes are soft and meatballs are cooked through, about 5
minutes.
5. Drain the pasta, reserving about 1 cup of the pasta water.
Transfer pasta to a large serving bowl and add the Parmesan. Toss to
lightly coat orecchiette, adding reserved pasta water, if needed, to
loosen the pasta. Add the meatball mixture, mozzarella, and 1/2 cup of the basil. Gently toss to combine. Garnish with the chopped basil.
For the recipe with a photo of the finished dish, head on over to the Food Network right
here.
Image: Amazon
"For what gives you the
right to make such a judgment? What do you have that God hasn’t given
you? And if everything you have is from God, why boast as though it were
not a gift?" 1 Corinthians 4:7 NLT
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