Baked chicken meatballs

Quick and easy to make and super versatile, these meatballs are great on their own, nestled in a tomato sauce, added to a minestrone or other vegetable soup, popped in a sandwich or even sliced cold onto a salad.

Ingredients

400g chicken mince, approximately

2 shallots, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, finely chopped (add more to taste)

1 stalk of celery, finely sliced (optional)

½ tub of ricotta

½ - 1 cup of sourdough breadcrumbs (more/less depending on how many meatballs you want) grated rind of half a lemon

30-40g grated parmesan or pecorino ground rock salt and black pepper

1 large egg, lightly beaten

Method

Preheat oven to 190°C.

Fry the finely chopped celery, shallots and garlic in olive oil until lightly golden and soft and allow to cool slightly.

Add all ingredients apart from the egg and seasoning to a large bowl and lightly mash together. Season well with salt and pepper.

Lightly beat the egg and then fold into the mixture well.

Wet your hands and roll spoonfuls of the mixture (size is not critical, as you are baking them and they will cook through) into balls of roughly the same size and place them on a baking sheet or tray.

Brush each meatball lightly with olive oil.

Pop into a preheated oven and bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown.

Fiona Black