Chicken Pine Nut And Lemon Tiny Balls
These chicken tiny balls were the smoothest I have ever tasted.
With a hint of lemon, and crispy pine nuts, they were delightful mixed with risoni, and served with baby rocket.
I think the secret was in the breadcrumbs in that I used home made rye bread and soaked it in milk.
I do not have a food processor so I used my mincer attachment however it would be far easier and quicker in a processor.
Preparation Time: 35 minutes
Cooking Time: 35 minutes
Makes: 3 servings
Ingredients
2 thick slices sourdough or light rye bread, torn up
120 ml milk
15- 30 ml olive oil
1 small onion, diced finely
1 garlic clove,chopped finely
Bit of fresh rosemary, chopped
300 g chicken thigh fillets, chopped roughly
1 very small egg
65 g Parmesan cheese, grated
45 g pine nuts
A handful of parsley, chopped
Bit of extra olive oil
30 g butter
Juice of a lemon and a bit of zest
450 ml water
Small bay leaf
150 g approximately of risoni
Extra 30 g butter
Extra Parmesan to serve (optional)
Method
Put the bread in a bowl and cover with the milk -leave for about 10 minutes.
Meanwhile heat oil in a frypan or wok on medium and add the onion, garlic and rosemary. Cook for about 6 minutes or until it is soft and golden. Leave to cool.
After 10 minutes squeeze the bread to remove the excess milk, and discard the milk.
Put the chicken and drained bread into a food processor. I do not have one so I used my mincer.
Add the onion mixture, and process again for 1 - 2 minutes to form a mince. Then add the egg and the parmesan and process again. Stir in the pine nuts and parsley and season with salt and pepper. If the mixture is a bit "sloppy" add some breadcrumbs, but as few as possible.
Roll into small balls.
Heat extra oil in a large fry pan or wok and over a high heat add several meatballs at a time, flattening slightly.
Cook these and add a little butter as you go until they are brown. Transfer to a paper lined plate and do the rest adding the butter again as before.
Return all the tiny balls to the pot, add lemon juice, rind, the water and a small bay leaf. Cook over high heat for about 10 minutes.
Cook till liquid absorbed -I added a bit of risoni here as well.
Meanwhile, cook the risoni for about 5 - 6 minutes or until just tender. Drain.
Stir the risoni through the cooked tiny balls and add a bit more extra butter. Top with more Parmesan (optional) and parsley to decorate.
I served this with plain [link http://reviewclue.com.au/coles-australian-baby-rocket/ baby rocket].
Categories
#dinner
#lunch
#make_ahead
#freeze
#family
#easy
#Chicken
#mince_chicken
#risoni
%recipeyum
226487 - 2023-07-17 10:02:05
