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Chicken Piccata Meatballs with Spaghetti and Broccoli
A lot of my recipes come from simply needing to use up the ingredients I have left in the fridge. This week, I had several lemons and a head of broccoli that needed to be used before I left for vacation. My boyfriend had taken ground chicken out of the freezer in the morning, so I had to build a recipe around those ingredients, and thus these chicken piccata meatballs were born.
To start prepping the meatballs, finely dice half an onion.
Mince up one or two cloves of garlic.
Sauté the onions in a few tablespoons of olive oil, adding the garlic when the onions start to become translucent. Once the onions start to turn slightly golden, remove the pan from the heat.
Juice two lemons, which should equal half a cup of juice. Then add half a cup of chicken broth.
Add the ground chicken, 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs, 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley, 1/4 cup water, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of pepper, and the onion and garlic mixture to a bowl.
Mix everything together until it's just combined.
Divide out the meatballs (a small ice cream scoop works perfectly) and roll them gently between your palms to shape them into balls.
Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil with 1 tablespoon of butter over medium heat, and place the meatballs in the pan.
After about 6 minutes, start rolling the meatballs over with tongs and cover the pan so they cook through. The meatballs should be a nice golden color all around.
While the meatballs are cooking, bring a large pot of water to a boil and cut the broccoli into small florets. Add half a box of spaghetti to the boiling water, and add the broccoli to the boiling water when there is only about 3 minutes left for the pasta.
Once the meatballs are browned, move them to the sides of the pan and stir a tablespoon of flour into the oil. Mix the meatballs around to coat them in the oil and flour mixture.
Pour the lemon juice and broth into the pan and let it simmer for a few minutes to reduce the sauce. Season with salt and pepper.
Add the cooked pasta and broccoli to the pan along with two more tablespoons of butter and a tablespoon of capers.
Once everything is coated in the sauce, serve and enjoy!
Recipe:
Total Time: 40 minutes | Serves: 4
Ingredients:
5 tablespoons olive oil, divided
4 tablespoons butter, divided
1/2 a white onion, finely diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 lb ground chicken
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
Salt and Pepper
1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice (about two lemons)
1/2 chicken broth
1 tablespoon drained capers
1 head of broccoli, cut into florets
3/4 box thin spaghetti
1. Start by filling a large pot with water and a heaping dose of salt, and set it on high heat. The water should taste like seawater - that's how you know it's seasoned properly to cook the pasta.
2. Heat two tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat and sauté the onions until they start to become translucent. Add the olive oil and sauté for another minute until just cooked. Set aside to cool.
3. Combine the ground chicken, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 a teaspoon of pepper, 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs, 1/4 cup of water, 1/4 cup fresh parsley, and the onion and garlic mixture. Don't overwork the mixture or the meatballs will be too dense.
4. Using an ice cream scoop or a spoon, divide the meatballs up. I usually get about 21 meatballs out of this recipe, but you can make them smaller or larger.
5. Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter over medium high heat. Once the butter is starting to bubble, add the meatballs. Cook them for about 6 minutes on one side or until they are turning golden brown. Once you flip them over, cover the pan so they will cook all the way through for another 6 minutes.
6. While the meatballs are cooking, combine the lemon juice and chicken broth.
7. Once the meatballs are browned all over, move them to the sides of the pan and add a tablespoon of flour to the oil in the middle. Mix the flour in until it is dissolved, then stir the meatballs around in the flour mixture.
8. At this point, add the pasta to the boiling water.
9. Pour the lemon juice and broth mixture into the pan and stir to coat the meatballs. Lower the heat to a simmer, add 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper and allow the sauce to reduce.
10. When there are only about 3 minutes left for the pasta, add the broccoli to the boiling water to cook as well.
11. Once the pasta is done, drain it but do not rinse it (rinsing the pasta will remove the starch that makes the sauce stick to it!) and add it to the pan with the meatballs. Add in the remaining two tablespoons of butter and the capers.
12. Toss everything to coat and serve!