Italian Style Chicken Meatballs

...inspired by memories of a favourite meatball recipe.

I’m recalibrating, turning my mind back to cooking for two. Cooking for a family or many has been a default for so many years that my muscle memory flicked straight back to type with Boy 2 here. But I had been cooking for two for a couple of years while he and his brother have been traveling so shrinking the menu again I can do. It is the final sign of the empty nest though.

I don’t menu plan as consciously as I did when the boys were young and life was busier but I do purchase with some thought of where I might land each night with the gathered ingredients. I tend to start with proteins, maybe because it’s the first section of the supermarket I come to upon entering or maybe because I walk past two butchers to actually enter said supermarket. Whichever it is protein tends to be my foundation so to speak. From the long list of favourites and things I’d like to try a palette forms, filtered by the list of preferences of my diners, currently the two of us. Most of the time it works but often times I’m like everyone else and can become stumped.

When a block faces me I either hunt through the mountain of cookbooks on my shelves or keep it simple with a nice piece of meat, think a good steak, and some fresh veg or salad. There’s a lot to be said for meat and three veg some days, but most of the time I enjoy being creative in the kitchen even on days when inspiration is low.

Last week in the days after our boy’s departure, as I walked towards the supermarket, my mind turned to the perennial what will I cook this week. If you were here last week you’ll have guessed that the first craving that came to mind was lamb shanks. But as I entered the little plaza in which my supermarket lives, I passed one of the butcher shops, the one that specialises in poultry. Alongside their meat selection a display of value-add products caught my attention. You know the ones, with meat already marinated or mixed with veg, the kinds of dishes you can take home and whip through a pan or the oven for a quick tasty meal. While they’re deservedly loved for their convenience, they never quite hit the mark for me, but they often do have some delicious ideas. One that caught my eye as I whizzed past was an Italian style chicken meatballs. Whose eye wouldn’t be caught by that combo?

I didn’t buy the pre-prepared version, but I did think chicken meatballs was completely achievable. We love meatball dishes here, I’ve tried them all, until settling on this one by Emiko Davies. It’s the gold standard in this house. I first fell in love with her family’s meatball recipe in 2019. Under gently waving weeping willow branches bathed in dappled, summer dusk sunlight Aperol in hand, myself and a group of creative women who’d gathered for a food and photography retreat dined on an early dinner nattering away relishing a day together absorbing the wonderful influence of the gathered presenters. It was an intimate affair, a small group of women, gently and generously guiding us through an immersive weekend of creativity by Sophie Hansen and her squad of wonderful co-presenters including Emiko. It was the first time I’d travelled for such an event after aspiring to do so for several years and one gratefully held in my memory. Indeed every time I eat that same recipe I’m transported back to that dreamy setting, can almost feel the sun on my shoulders and the tinkle of laughter in the air carried softly through vail of dancing willow branches. Food has the most incredible way of holding our memories.

So back to the supermarket, I grabbed a tray of chicken mince, filled my trolley with the rest of the weeks acquisitions and headed home with an idea bubbling away. Inspired by those meatballs I leaned into the basics of our favourite dish with a small tweak here and there to reflect the chicken hero in my dish and the love affair between bacon and chicken. And back to that summer scene I find myself in mind. With each mouthful my new take on the classic first enjoyed in that garden brings a smile of joy and warmth from that now long-ago time with herby freshness and the burst of sunshine from summery tomato passata.

Ingredients:

500gm chicken mince

¾ c panko breadcrumbs

2 tsp thyme leaves

1 tbs finely chopped parsley leaves

20 gm finely grated parmesan

½ tsp fresh grated nutmeg

½ tsp salt flakes

A few good grinds black pepper

1 egg

1 Tb olive oil

120 gm chopped bacon

1 small onion finely chopped

1 garlic clove finely chopped

1 tbs finely chopped parsley leaves extra

700ml passata

1 C chicken stockMethod:

Combine chicken, breadcrumbs thyme, 1 Tb of the parsley, parmesan, nutmeg, egg and salt and pepper. Mix well with hands. With damp hands dipped in a small bowl of water, roll into balls the size of walnut shells, approximately 30 balls, and leave to stand on a lightly oiled plate in the fridge to firm up a little while you finish preparing the remaining ingredients.

In a large pan heat the olive oil over a medium heat. Gently slide the meatballs off the plate into the pan and brown on all sides. We don’t want to cook them through just the outside. Remove and keep warm on a fresh clean plate (not the one we just used, it has raw chicken moisture on it). In the same pan, cook bacon until starting to crisp on the edges. Add onion and reduce heat to low for five minutes to gently cook onion. Increase heat back to medium, add garlic and second tablespoon of parsley and stir cooking for a minute until fragrant. Pour in passata and stir, pour stock into empty passata bottle and swish around then pour the mixed contents into the pan. Bring to the boil then reduce heat and simmer for fifteen minutes until it starts to thicken and reduce. Return meatballs to the pan and continue simmering for ten to fifteen minutes to continue thickening sauce and finish cooking meatballs.

Serve with soft creamy polenta, mashed potatoes, crispy roast spuds, pasta or rice or just in a bowl with thick crusty bread.

---

Reading: This beautiful ode to Nordic cuisine by aussie chef, writer, stylist and photographer Simon Bajada it’s more of his reflections on the cuisine of the Nordic and Scandinavian countries and a small portal into the world Boy 2’s is exploring in Finland.

’44 Poems on Being with Each Other.’ A book recommended to me during a delightful morning walking tour of Melbourne’s Bookshops hosted by Jaclyn Crupi and AirBNB Experiences (not sponsored). If you’re visiting Melbourne or are a local and love our city and books this is a wonderful way to see the city and our relationship with literature in a unique and engaging way. Jaclyn is a charismatic and passionate bookseller and author who guides you through a fascinating selection of historic stores. And her personalised selections are en pointe…. “Jaclyn I’m curious to explore poetry what do you suggest…?” Can confirm her above recommendation is proving very enjoyable for this, previously, non poetry reader. I think this would make a great gift experience idea for a book lover in your life too.

Eating: This delicious gnocchi recipe if someone can send me tips on how to trick hubby into thinking it’s not pumpkin.

This spiced carrot cake from above mentioned book Modern Nordic. Moist and light it’s studded with the sweet, warm spices of the far north and super morish…and happily super easy.