Chicken Parmesan Meatballs in Homemade Pasta Sauce

Not a big meatball eater, so cooking meatballs equals challenge! - Thank  God I had Avanti on skype kind of telling me what to do. By the way, I never knew making pasta sauce at home was so easy and it tastes way better than the store bought ones. And I didnt even use fresh tomatoes. I really was itching to make something different like Ginger Sesame Meatballs or Tandoori Paneer Meatballs but I wanted to start with the basic today and build some confidence in the future meatball escapades. I looked at several recipes online for the tomato sauce and meatballs. Finally ended up looking at the back of my pasta sauce bottle for ingredients, asked my cousin Avanti for tips of meatball prep, and made the pasta like my cousin Karishma does. I tagged the dish as an appetizer as well, because, one could make bite size ones with toothpicks on them and serve with pasta sauce as an appetizer.

Ingredients:

1 large onion, finely chopped

 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 large carrots, finely chopped

4 cups crushed tomatoes

Couple handfuls of fresh basil, chopped

White cooking wine, 1 cup

Salt/Black pepper/Pinch of sugar

Italian seasonings

Shredded parmesan cheese

Meatballs:

2 chicken breasts, cubed and chopped (about 4 cups cubed)

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves

Breadcrumbs, 3/4 cup

1 egg

Parmesan cheese, 3/4 cup

Dash of oregano and Italian seasonings

Season with salt and black pepper

Whole wheat pasta, cooked according to package directions and drained in a colander

Method:

Sauce:

1. Heat oil. Add the garlic, onions, and carrots.  Let cook for 10 minutes on low flame until translucent and tender.

2. Add the tomatoes and mix well.  Let simmer on low heat for 15 minutes.  Keep sauteeing as the water evaporates. I actually added a little bit of water and some wine.  Add basil and Italian seasonings. Cover and let simmer for another 30 minutes.  The sugar helps cut the acidity of the tomatoes, but add it sparingly. I would also add some red chilli flakes if you like it a bit spicy.

3. Add parmesan cheese (a little over 1/4 cup) and stir vigorously. Let cook for another few minutes. Set aside.

Meatballs:

1. Start out by sauteeing the cut onions in some oil. Add some oregano, salt, black pepper, Italian seasonings, red pepper flakes, and garlic. After sauteeing for about 3 to 5 minutes on medium heat, set aside.

2. My hubby does not like preminced store bought meat. So I mince my chicken breast at home in a food pro. After washing, patting dry, seasoning the chicken with salt and pepper, and cutting the chicken in big cubes, process the chicken meat in a food processor on pulse setting one or two times. Do not overpulse as you want a rough texture to the balls.

3. Add the sauteed onions to the food processor. Run the food processor once. Now add the parmesan cheese and the breadcrumbs and process the meat slowly.  Remember to not overprocess the meat to a mush.  If you are not sure if you should add more breadcrumbs, test it out - try to make a meatball on your had out of the meat, if it starts sticking then you need more breadcrumbs to hold the meat together. Do not add too much at once.

4. Once you have reached the right consistency, make equal sizes meat balls (I got about 20).  Heat oil in a flat bottom skillet. Place them one by one on the skillet and let brown on medium heat. Flip and sear the other side. (Total time: 10 minutes) 

5. Once the meatballs are seared, place them in a oiled oven safe pan.  Pour the sauce you made earlier over the top. Cover tightly with foil and put in the oven.  Bake for 25 to 30 minutes and check for doneness. Bake more if you think the meat appears raw. Keep checking once in a while to make sure the oven temperature is okay and that meatballs are not burning at the bottom.

Pasta:

You can either serve the pasta as is with the sauce and meatballs or do the following - in a skillet, heat butter, add the cooked and drained pasta and toss. Now add some salt and black pepper followed by some parmesan cheese.  Toss well.

Assemble it all together:

Start with the pasta on the bottom. Add the meatballs on the top and pour the sauce on the meatballs. Enjoy!