Chicken Meatballs with Tomato-Balsamic Glaze
Unlike your typical Italian meatballs, which are hearty and covered in red sauce, these chicken meatballs with a tangy-sweet glaze are light and elegant. Sometimes I make them small and serve as hors d'oeuvres.
Chicken Meatballs with Tomato-Balsamic Glaze
makes 14 meatballs
for meatballs:
1 egg
3 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 pound ground chicken, preferably not all breast meat (I like Purdue)
1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons Italian seasoned bread crumbs
for tomato-balsamic glaze:
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
In a large bowl, combine egg, parsley, tomato paste, garlic, milk, salt and pepper. Mix well with a wire whisk, making sure the tomato paste is completely dissolved.
Add ground chicken, grated cheese and breadcrumbs. Use your hand to mix ingredients together. Mixture will be somewhat wet. Form medium size balls (I think it’s easiest to use a 3-tablespoon ice cream scooper with a wire scraper) and place onto ungreased baking sheet or very large baking dish.
Make the glaze by combining all the ingredients in a small bowl, then brush over meatballs. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until an instant read thermometer inserted into the center of a meatball registers 160 degrees. Remove from oven and serve.
Jennifer Segal is the founder and publisher of Once Upon a Chef, a cooking blog featuring easy and elegant recipes. Before launching her blog, Jennifer earned her culinary stripes working front and back of the house at some of DC's top fine dining restaurants, including L'Auberge Chez Francois, Sam & Harry's and The Caucus Room.
She has also done private catering and restaurant public relations. Jennifer is a graduate of the professional Culinary Arts Program at L'Academie de Cuisine.