BUTTER CHICKEN MEATBALLS

Posted in Poultry by sallybr

If you are a lover of Middle Eastern spices, this recipe will definitely please you… I adapted it from Averie Cooks, a blog I’ve been following for a long time. My version reduced a bit the amount of carbs by substituting almond flour for bread crumbs, and also reduced the amount of fat added in the end. Still it felt rich enough for us. If you prefer, follow her original recipe instead.

BUTTER CHICKEN MEATBALLS
(adapted from Averiecooks)

1 pound ground chicken
1 large egg
1/2 cup almond flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small shallot, finely diced
1 tablespoon garam masala, or to taste
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste for sauce
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, for sauce
one 15-ounce can low-fat coconut milk
1 cup water
6 ounces tomato paste
1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt, full-fat
2 tablespoons butter (I omitted)
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, finely minced

Heat oven to 400F and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, non-stick works great.

Make the meatballs: To a large bowl, add the ground chicken, egg, almond flour, salt, pepper, and using clean hands or a rubber spatula, mix gently until the mixture is uniformly combined. Form approximately 16 to 18 meatballs, using 1.5 to 2 tablespoons of mixture per meatball. Place them evenly spaced on the prepared baking sheet and bake for about 20 minutes, or until lightly crisped on the outside, flipping them midway through cooking time.

Make the sauce: Add the olive oil to a large skillet, and sauté the shallot until soft and fragrant. Add the garam masala, curry powder, turmeric, salt, pepper, coconut milk, water, tomato paste, and whisk to combine. Bring the sauce mixture to a boil, and then reduce the heat to low or medium-low, and allow the sauce to gently simmer for about 20 minutes.

Add the meatballs to the sauce, simmer everything together for 5 minutes, then add the yogurt and butter in very low heat, mix to combine with the sauce, add the cilantro and serve.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: The amount of garam masala seems excessive, as Averie pointed out, but it works. It is not spicy at all, but makes the whole dish quite flavorful, very intense. I often use almond flour in meatballs and meatloaves, the texture is a little different from breadcrumbs but I am now quite fond of it. The meatballs get a little softer this way. Of course, you can use Panko breadcrumbs instead, same amount. I omitted the butter to reduce a bit the saturated fat content, which immediately goes against the name of the dish, but sometimes I do crazy things.

We enjoyed it with a little cooked kamut wheat and broccoli puree. Very simple meal, but super satisfying!

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24Jul2022

MISO-GINGER TURKEY MEATBALLS WITH CABBAGE “NOODLES”

Posted in Poultry by sallybr

Once again, I share a recipe that will not get any prizes on beauty contests. Brown food, oh so very tricky to get a good-looking picture. But I would never shy away from sharing something tasty, so let’s get to the most important point: how to get this to your table!

MISO-GINGER MEATBALLS WITH CABBAGE “NOODLES”
(inspired by Modern Proper)

1 + 1/2 pounds ground turkey
2 tablespoons white miso paste
1 egg
1/2 cup almond flour
1/4 cup finely grated carrot
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1 + 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
olive oil spray

for the cabbage:
1 tablespoon grapeseed oil
finely sliced green cabbage, amount to taste
salt and pepper to taste

to finish the dish:
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon white miso paste
sesame seeds for serving

Heat oven to 400F.

In a large bowl, stir together the eggs and 1 tablespoon of the miso paste until fully incorporated. Add the ground turkey, almond flour, carrot, ginger, salt, and pepper. Mix well, then with wet hands, form golf ball–size meatballs and place on a sheet pan covered with aluminum foil. Spray the surface of the meatballs with olive oil, and bake for about 20 minutes, turning them midway through baking.

When the meatballs are almost done, start making the cabbage. Heat the oil on a large non-stick skillet until almost smoking. Add the cabbage, season with salt and pepper, and allow it to brown slightly. Move it around, flipping the strands, until cooked through, but don’t let it get mushy. Transfer to a serving dish. To the same skillet, add the soy sauce and miso, whisk until the miso fully dissolves. Add the turkey meatballs to the soy mixture and simmer gently for a few minutes, with the pan covered.

Serve the meatballs with the cabbage noodles, sprinkle with sesame seeds if so desired.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: My friend Tracy a couple of months ago mentioned that cabbage is a great alternative to low-carb “noodles” if you get tired of zucchini. I am a huge fan of zoodles , but decided to give her idea a try, and I can see why she loved her Pad Thai so much when lightened up with thinly sliced cabbage. It absorbs any flavor you use for a sauce, and the texture is quite pleasing. I don’t follow any particular type of diet, but tend to favor lightening the carbs whenever possible. In this case, it matched well the meatballs in their Oriental ways. I served ours with air-fried butternut squash that was leftover from another meal.

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18Dec2021

ASIAN-STYLE CHICKEN MEATBALLS

Posted in Poultry by sallybr

I’ve been a user of “Copy-Me-That” for a very long time. It is a breeze to save recipes from any site in the internet. Much to my own amazement, I noticed that over the years I’ve saved 1,700 recipes! They can be retrieved with a search for main ingredients, cuisine, whatever you feel like. Sometimes I log into the site and have fun browsing through, re-visiting favorites from years past. This delicious meatballs were patiently waiting for me and I finally made them, with a few changes to accommodate our taste buds… These will go into regular rotation in our kitchen, the sauce is a dream!

ASIAN-STYLE CHICKEN MEATBALLS
(adapted from Confessions of a Fit Foodie)

Cooking oil spray
1lb ground chicken
1 T soy sauce
1 egg
1 T minced ginger
1 clove of garlic, minced (optional)
½ cup of carrots, finely minced in food processor
¼ cup almond flour
½ tsp salt

for the sauce:
1/4 cup of honey
1/3 cup of soy sayce
1 T tomato paste
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 T finely chopped ginger
1 t Gochujang sauce

In a large bowl, gently mix ingredients for meatballs. Begin forming the meatballs and place on a plate or tray. I made 14 meatballs. Mix the ingredients for sauce and set aside.

Place meatballs on a baking sheet covered with aluminum foil lightly coated with oil spray. Bake meatballs at 350 for 30 minutes or until cooked through. While meatballs are cooking, combine sauce ingredients in a saucepan and simmer on the stove until sauce begins to thicken.

Mix meatballs with sauce and serve.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: Carrots have a lot of water, so expect the meatballs to ooze some liquid as they bake. In her site, she gives options for air-fryer and Instant-Pot, but I made too many to fit in our small air-fryer, so I went with regular baking. Don’t worry about the liquid, just flip them over mid-way through roasting and lift them gently to add to the sauce later. I actually allowed them to simmer for a minute with the sauce.

A little white rice, some green beans with almonds, and we ate as Royals of The Bewitching Kitchen!

I love adding veggies to meatballs, meatloaf, and even burgers. They contribute moisture and a more complex flavor. Carrots were perfect with the ground chicken, and don’t skimp on the ginger!

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6Apr2021

CHICKEN MEATBALLS, POTSTICKER STYLE

Posted in Poultry by sallybr

Potstickers are perhaps my favorite food in the universe. You would think that because I bake a lot of sweets, savory things are secondary in my world, but in fact it is the opposite. I am satisfied with one cookie or even just a bite. But potstickers? Self-control becomes a serious issue. Inspiration came from a must-have cookbook, Dinner: Changing the Game. But I used ground chicken instead of pork, which reduces the fat content a bit, and adapted it to hold its shape better. Turned out excellent, and contrary to what usually happens in our dinners, there were no leftovers. Because… self-control….

POTSTICKER-STYLE CHICKEN MEATBALLS
(inspired by Dinner: Changing the Game)

1 pound ground chicken (white meat is fine)
⅓ cup finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1 serrano chile, seeded and chopped
1 tablespoon finely chopped peeled fresh ginger
zest of 1 lime
juice of 1/2 lime juice
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon Asian fish sauce
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup almond meal or almond flour
for finishing sauce:
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 tablespoon Sriracha or to taste
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 teaspoon light brown sugar

Heat the oven to 425F.

In a large bowl, combine the ground chicken, cilantro, Serrano pepper, ginger, lime zest and juice, soy sauce, fish sauce, almond flour and salt. Roll the mixture into 1-inch balls.

Arrange the meatballs in a single layer over aluminum foil (I like to use non-stick foil). Bake until cooked through, around 20 minutes, turning them over mid-way through baking. As they bake, prepare the sauce by combining all ingredients.

After they are cooked, brush them lightly with the sauce and keep in the oven for a couple more minutes, then serve with your favorite side dish. They also work well as appetizers, with a side of napkins…

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: I love Melissa Clark and own several of her cookbooks, Dinner: Changing the Game is perhaps my favorite. Recipes are simple but interesting, they always have some kind of a nice twist that makes me want to try them. I like using ground chicken and turkey in our cooking, but that poses problems, because they can turn out bland and dry very easily. Not the case here, I am sure these will be in our rotation regularly. The combination of ginger, fish sauce, and sesame oil is a true winner. I also like the texture given by the almond flour. I know, totally non-authentic, but when you change the protein, some adjustment is needed. I hope you’ll give this simple recipe a try.

We enjoyed them with stir-fried zucchini and white rice. I crave this meal already.

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31Oct2018

LAMB MEATBALLS, SLOW-COOKER VERSION

Posted in Lamb by sallybr

One of the things I don’t like to do in the kitchen is peeling hazelnuts. The other is frying stuff. Not for concerns with fat intake, which don’t bother me even slightly, but for the mess it makes on the stove and the lingering smell in the kitchen. It probably explains why I ended up getting an air-fryer. Wait, who am I trying to fool? I have a weak spot for cooking gadgets… Anyway, whenever I find a method that circumvents the need for frying stuff, I am on it. Most recipes for meatballs insist you must brown them on a frying pan. Not this one. And the result is a super tender lamb meatball, that seems to soak the flavor of the tomato sauce better than traditional versions. Plus, the fact that it cooks unattended in the crock pot is a bonus. After forming the meatballs, your work is pretty much done.

SLOW-COOKER LAMB MEATBALLS
(from the Bewitching Kitchen)

1 pound ground lamb
1/3 cup almond flour
1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk, beaten
grated zest or 1/2 large lemon
½ teaspoon ground cumin
fresh parsley leaves, to taste (about 1/4 cup)
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 + 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
28-ounce can whole tomatoes
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

Gently combine the lamb, almond flour, beaten egg and yolk, cumin, cinnamon, parsley, lemon zest, and 1 teaspoon of salt in a large bowl.

Put the tomatoes and red pepper flakes into slow cooker. Break up the tomatoes with a potato masher. Season it with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Form the meat mixture into meatballs, make them slightly bigger than golf-ball size. Drop them gently in the tomato sauce.

Cook on LOW for 4 hours, serve with any side dish you like.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: This recipe works better with larger meatballs, so they don’t turn into mush through the long cooking. Two make a very nice portion for dinner, so by cooking a full batch we can have either a repeat dinner later in the week, or… my favorite thing: leftovers for lunch!

You can use breadcrumbs instead of almond flour if you prefer. I tend to go with almond flour because it’s lower in carbs and I like the slightly nutty taste it gives to the meatballs. On my second time making this recipe, I added Sriracha to the ground lamb mixture. If you like some extra heat, give it a try. I bet gojuchang sauce could be a winner too.