Chicken parmesan meatballs, whipped ricotta, brown truffle butter
Ingredients:
Makes approx. 15 meatballs, serves 2-4 people.
Chicken Parmesan Meatballs:
400g chicken mince
1/2 cup panko crumbs + 4 tbsp
1/4 cup whole milk
1 egg
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 cup grated parmesan
10g chives, reserve half for ricotta, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 shallot, diced
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp mushroom seasoning blend (mine is from Trader Joe’s seen here) if you can’t get it, substitute with 1/8 tsp mixed herbs, 1/4 tsp mustard powder and 1/8 tsp of red chilli flakes
1 tsp sumac
1 tsp kosher salt
fresh cracked black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil, or neutral oil, for frying
Whipped Ricotta:
500g ricotta
zest of a lemon
pinch of salt
chives - the reserved 5g, chopped
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Squeeze of fresh lemon juice, about 1/2 tbsp
Rainbow Chard:
300g rainbow chard and kale mix
(using only the kale leaves but both the stem and leaves from the rainbow chard, roughly chopped)
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, sliced
pinch of salt
Brown Truffle Butter:
50g truffle butter
Garnish:
Fresh basil leaves
Drizzle of olive oil
Pinch of salt
Method:
In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients for the whipped ricotta and mix to combine using a spoon. Taste and adjust for salt, then leave in the fridge to keep cool.
In a small pan, over medium heat, add 50g truffle butter and allow to brown over the course of 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently. Once the mill solids start to turn golden, turn off the heat. Pour into a bowl and let cool.
In a large mixing bowl, begin by making the panade - which is the wet mixture which will give us tender and juicy meat balls. Combine panko, milk, chives, garlic, shallot, onion powder, sumac, mushroom seasoning blend, salt, pepper and mix until combined. Whisk together the egg and 2 tbsp olive oil and stir into the panade. Add grated parmesan and chicken mince and combine gently with your hands, careful not to overmix. Using your hands helps to make sure they don’t end up tough. Leave the rest in the fridge whilst we make the sautéed rainbow chard, which we will add into the chicken meatball mix.
In a large pan, preferably non-stick, over medium-high heat, drizzle in 4 tbsp olive oil. Wait until the pan gets very hot, then add in rainbow chard and kale and leave to crisp up for about 2-3 minutes before stirring. You should hear active sizzling. Stir occasionally. You may need to add a shot glass of water to help prevent the greens from sticking to your pan and prevent drying out. Once the greens have wilted significantly, add garlic and salt and sauté for another 5 minutes more until the garlic has softened. Remove the sautéed greens from the heat and let cool up to room temperature. Reserve half for the final dish and add half into the chicken meatballs mix.
Combine again with your hands, gently mixing the sauteed greens through the chicken mix. Roll into meatballs, the size of your palm, resulting in approximately 15 meatballs.
To fry the meatballs, grab a large non-stick pan and over medium heat, add in 1/4 cup olive oil and allow to get really hot. This will prevent the meatballs from sticking to the pan, which may happen if the oil isn’t hot enough. To be safe, wait 5 minutes after you put the oil in.
Add the meatballs into the pan, they should sizzle actively. Work in small groups, frying half the meatballs at a time, so as to not overcrowd the pan. Leave to fry on this first side for 3-4 minutes, or until you see the golden brown bottom start to crawl up the sides. It’s super important to leave them and not flip them too early, so as to get that really nice crust. Once they are a deep golden brown, flip on their other side and fry again for 3-4 minutes. Once that side is golden, fry on their side for 3 minutes then remove from heat, placing on a paper-towel lined plate. Cut one open to ensure it’s cooked through.
To plate, add whipped ricotta to a beautiful large plate. Smear and create a crater in the center. Sprinkle over the reserved half of the sautéed greens. Add meatballs over top the greens, then drizzle brown truffle butter over everything. Squeeze a bit of fresh lemon juice overtop, sprinkle flakey salt and add fresh basil.
Dig in!
