Chicken Meatballs with Tomato Gravy — Easy Recipe
We make soft, juicy chicken meatballs with tomato gravy quite often, helped by the fact that chicken is easy to find in any shop. It is simple and very quick to cook, and anything made from ground chicken simmers or fries through in just a few minutes. Chicken is the perfect candidate for steaming, for fried chicken patties or for meatballs braised in sauce.
Chicken meatballs are balls rolled from prepared ground meat, and they come in all sizes. They can be as small as a cherry, which goes very well with Italian pasta, or as big as a hen's egg, and those are the ones we braise in sauce. The world has plenty of dishes shaped as meatballs: Swedish köttbullar, traditional Eastern kofta, which are almost always made as small balls, chickpea falafel and all kinds of meatballs.
As a rule, we make the meatballs from chicken breast, or add a little dark meat from the thighs, drumsticks or back of the bird. Chicken is quite tender and has a delicate flavor, so the mince does not need many spices: a little ground coriander, sweet and hot paprika, black pepper. Salt the mince carefully; it is better to add 1 tsp of light soy sauce, which is salty and only improves the taste of the dish.
Ground chicken is sticky enough that the meatballs do not fall apart while cooking. Depending on the circumstances, though, you can add a very little breadcrumb to make the mince firmer. You can do without any binders such as egg or flour, and without fillers such as rice, bulgur or other grains, which are often added.
Chicken is usually sold chilled in shops. At home, in the vast majority of cases, it gets frozen and used as needed. Do not rush the thawing. Simply move the chicken from the freezer to the fridge overnight, and the meat will not lose its juices.
Homemade meatballs in tomato sauce cook very quickly. All you need is to grind the chicken and mix it with spices. The balls can be rolled in flour or cornstarch and then fried in a little vegetable oil. Almost any tomato gravy will do, to your taste. The simplest option is a mix of good homemade tomato juice and water with some spices. But you can also use fresh tomato puree when they are in season.
Ingredients
2 servings
- Large chicken breast 1
- Chicken thighs 2
- Homemade tomato juice 300 ml
- Vegetable oil 2-3 tbsp
- Wheat flour, breadcrumbs as needed
- Salt, black pepper, sweet and hot paprika, ground coriander, sugar to taste
- Couscous, rice, mashed potatoes for serving
Step-by-step recipe
- Since chicken breast is a bit dry, we add about a third of chopped dark meat to the mince, cutting it from the thighs, drumsticks or back of the bird. Or, more simply, we just buy different parts that suit meatballs. Remove the skin, bones and cartilage from the chicken pieces. If the meat has released its juices after all, it does not hurt to squeeze it a little to press out some of the moisture.
- Put the chicken through a meat grinder. Transfer the mince to a bowl and add the spices. I confess I love chicken with curry, I like that flavor. But for these chicken meatballs we added a little ground coriander, hot and sweet paprika and a bit of black pepper. Season the mince with salt to taste, or add 0.5-1 tsp of soy sauce.
- If the ground chicken is wet, add 1 tbsp of grated stale white bread, or good-quality dried breadcrumbs. Mix the mince again until it is smooth and sticks to the spoon just a little. If you added breadcrumbs, let the mince rest for 10 minutes so they soak through completely. After that you can shape the chicken meatballs.
- Roll all the meatballs before cooking so you can fry them all at once. Wet a large plate with water. Wetting your hands, roll balls from the ground chicken. The size is largely up to you. We make chicken meatballs the size of a small egg or a little smaller, which usually gives 10-12 pieces. Place the meatballs on the plate.
- You do not have to roll the meatballs in flour: they fry perfectly well and braise nicely without it. If you like, you can coat them in flour or cornstarch. Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan and put all the chicken meatballs in at once. Fry them, turning, until lightly browned. By the way, you do not need a fork or spatula to turn them; you can stir them or flip them with a toss of the pan if you have the knack.
- If you have plenty of ripe tomatoes, I suggest making tomato puree, thinning it with water and pouring the mixture into the pan. Or, which is more convenient, dilute 1.5-2 cups of homemade tomato juice with 0.5 cup of water and pour it over the browned meatballs. Add a pinch of salt, black and hot pepper, and I also recommend a little sugar, 1 tsp at most. The gravy turns out sweet and sour and fragrant. We often add a little cream, which makes it more delicate.
- Braise the chicken meatballs in the tomato sauce, covered, over medium-low heat for 10-15 minutes. That is enough, since chicken cooks quickly. The tomato sauce is fairly thin; you can leave it that way or thicken it with flour. If you fried the meatballs coated in flour, you may not need to thicken the gravy. You can make the sauce spicier to taste or add other spices.
- Place the finished meatballs in a small deep bowl and pour plenty of tomato sauce over them. Serve with something simple and neutral in flavor: mashed potatoes, boiled rice, couscous. If you prefer, put the side dish on a plate, top it with the meatballs and pour the gravy over everything.
| Yield: | 2 servings |
| Calories: | 120 |
| Prep time: | 15 mins |
| Cook time: | 30 mins |
| Total time: | 45 mins |
| Category: | Main Dishes |
| Cuisine: | European |
| Rating: |
⭐
⭐
⭐
⭐
⭐
5
(8)
|