Chicken, coriander & ricotta balls in tomato sauce

So it is June again and I have been meaning to sit down and do a #blogjune post on this blog which I have regularly continued to post in. The last time I completed #blogjune every day of June was in 2016.  But I still get tempted by the notices and by reading posts by long ago connections and friends. So it’s just one for me this June. 

This is a serendipity dish. I bought some minced chicken to make chickens simmered in tomato sauce, but I grabbed it quickly off a shelf without looking at quantity. Ah well, necessity is the mother of invention they say, so I eked out the mixture with half a tub of ricotta I had in the fridge. And the end result? I liked it a lot and will make the dish again. 

As an alternative to simmering on the top of the stove, you can also bake in the oven. If you want to do that, start with preheating the oven to 180c. Then make and sear the chicken balls. Put the sauce into an ovenproof dish, add the seared balls, cover with a lid or foil and cook for 45 minutes. This method can also be used to reheat any remaining chickens but 30 minutes should enough for that. 

Ingredients 

230 gr minced chicken

140 gr ricotta

2 spring onions

2 cloves crushed garlic

2 tsp crushed ginger root

1 tsp Sambal oelek

I bunch coriander

Breadcrumbs

Ready-made tomato and basil sauce

Olive oil

Mode

Place tomato sauce in pan and bring to boil

Reduce to simmer

Chop spring onions

Crush garlic and ginger

Place minced chicken in bowl

Add ginger, garlic and Sambal oelek and stir to combine

Roughly chop coriander and add to mixture

Add ricotta 

Stir to combine 

Place breadcrumbs on plate

Form balls from chicken mixture and roll in breadcrumbs

Pour olive oil into frying pan and heat

Quickly sear the chicken balls in batches

Add to tomato sauce and simmer for 30 minutes

Basil and ginger chicken balls in tomato sauce

Chicken balls with ginger and basil simmered in tomato and basil sauce! Yes!! I used ready made tomato and basil sauce and dried basil I had hanging in the kitchen. And lemon and pepper breadcrumbs. Yum. Yum. And I ate it with whole grain rice and some shaved Parmesan.

Ingredients 

500 gr minced chicken

2 spring onions

2 cloves crushed garlic

3 tsp crushed ginger root

Dried basil

Breadcrumbs

Ready-made tomato and basil sauce

Olive oil

Mode

Place tomato sauce in pan and bring to boil

Reduce to simmer

Chop spring onions

Crush garlic and ginger

Place minced chicken in bowl

Add ginger and garlic and stir to combine

Crumple dried basil and add to mixture

Stir to combine 

Place breadcrumbs on plate

Form balls from chicken mixture and roll in breadcrumbs

Pour olive oil into frying pan and heat

Quickly sear the chicken balls in batches

Add to tomato sauce and simmer for 30 minutes

Chicken & coriander pesto meatballs in tomato sauce

After a year when I seem to have been eating nothing but pies and other carbs, now I am trying to get over all that comfort food. When I was food shopping today, masked up at Piedimonte’s, minced chicken caught my eye. Mmm chicken meatballs. The other ingredients were what happened to catch my eye in the pantry and refrigerator when I was wondering what to cook this evening.

I used a ready made and purchased coriander pesto (yum) and a ready made tomato sauce (Five Brothers Tomato and basil sauce) but you could be more creative and make your own!

Ingredients

500 gr minced chicken

2tbs coriander pesto

2 cloves garlic

2 tsp minced ginger root

2 spring onions

Olive oil

500 gr ready made tomato sauce

Mode

Place minced chicken in mixing bowl

Crush garlic and add

Add ginger and coriander pesto

Chop spring onions and add

Stir until thoroughly mixed

Using a tablespoon  spoon form in into meatballs

Finalize shape with hand and place on plate

Meanwhile place the tomato sauce in a pan on heat 

Fill bottle with water, shake to clear jar

Add to pan and stir

Bring to boil and reduce to simmer

Heat olive oil in frying pan

Add meatballs in batches and cook to seal 

Add to tomato sauce as sealed

Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes

Eat alone if avoiding carbs or otherwise serve with rice, pasta or noodles. 

Enjoy!!

Chicken and dill balls in tomato sauce

This is for you, Maria Ganotis Brent, as I try to stop hitting the carbs during COVID lockdown. Sadly we didn’t get to meet this year in Greece or the Lake District but there will always be του χρόνου. But I often think of you as I gobble down bread (albeit multigrain sourdough) and know that I should be reducing my carb intake, particularly the refined products and sugar.  Yes, I know I served this with rice but you don’t have to.

As readers of this blog know, I love meatballs in any shape or form. These happened because I found chicken mince in Piedimonte’s and looked to see what I had in the fridge and pantry. The other evening I watched a cookery show of Jamie Oliver and was in awe about how he used up all his dying vegetables to make sachets of tomato sauce to freeze. Yes, I do use whatever is around to make sauces but not usually in volumes enough to store.  I find there are good ready made sauces in the supermarket and I always have some of those ready at hand in the pantry whether I am in Melbourne or Athens. This time I used a Melbourne favourite, the Five Brothers tomato and basil pasta sauce.

Ingredients 

500 gr tomato sauce

250 gr water

500 gr chicken mince

3 teaspoons crushed garlic

3 teaspoons crushed ginger root

2 tablespoons chopped dill

2 spring onions

Olive oil

Shaved Parmesan 

Wholemeal brown basmati rice

Mode

Place the tomato sauce in a pan to heat

Add the water to sauce jar, shake and add to sauce

Stir to combine

Bring to simmer and reduce heat

Place chicken mince in bowl

Crush garlic and ginger and add

Chop dill and add

Chop spring onions and add

Stir to combine thoroughly using hands if needed

With a tablespoon sized mixture form balls

Meanwhile heat olive oil in frying pan

In batches seal the chicken balls in the oil and add to the tomato sauce

Simmer in sauce until cooked through and imbued with tomato sauce flavours

Serve with multigrain basmati rice and sprinkle with shaved Parmesan. 

Chicken balls with ginger and Vietnamese mint

These gingery chicken balls with the added flavours of Vietnamese mint and lemongrass are easy to make and delicious!

Ingredients
700 gr minced chicken
2 cloves garlic
4 tsp minced ginger
Handful Vietnamese mint
1 tsp lemongrass paste
1/2 tsp Sambal Oelek
Dry fine bread crumbs
Olive oil
250 gr ready made tomato sauce
Water
Steamed rice or noodles
Shaved Parmesan

Mode

Crush garlic and ginger
Chop Vietnamese mint roughly
Add chicken, garlic, ginger, lemongrass, Sambal Oelek and Vietnamese mint to a bowl
Combine ingredients thoroughly with hands
Using a heaped soup spoon of mixture form meatballs
Coat lightly in bread crumbs
Place tomato sauce in large pan to heat 
Heat olive oil in pan on stove top
Add the meatballs in batches and quickly seal on both sides
Add sealed meatballs to the tomato sauce
Simmer on the top of the stove for 20-30 minutes
Serve on a bed of rice or rice noodles
Top with shaved Parmesan

Ginger chicken balls

I always feel like meatballs - of whatever flavour. These ones combine some of my favourite flavours: ginger, garlic, Thai basil, chicken, and spring onion and are simmered in tomato sauce and served on a bed of basmati rice. I used a Dolmio spicy pepper sauce which went well with the other flavours, but you could make your own or use a different sort of ready made sauce. However, the meatballs could also be cooked and eaten without sauce, or with sauce served with noodles or pasta. Meatballs are very flexible! I cooked these on the top of the stove but they can be baked in the oven at 160c for 45 minutes.

Ingredients
600 gr minced chicken
2 spring onions
2 cloves garlic
2 tsp minced ginger
8 gr Thai basil
Dry fine bread crumbs
Olive oil
250 gr ready made tomato sauce
Water
Steamed rice or noodles
Shaved Parmesan

Mode
Slice spring onions finely
Crush garlic and ginger
Chop Thai basil fairly finely
Add chicken, spring onions, garlic, ginger and Thai basil to a bowl
Combine ingredients thoroughly with hands
Using a heaped soup spoon of mixture form meatballs
Coat lightly in bread crumbs
Place tomato sauce in large pan to heat 
Heat olive oil in pan on stove top
Add the meatballs in batches and quickly seal on both sides
Add sealed meatballs to the tomato sauce
Simmer on the top of the stove for 20-30 minutes
Serve on a bed of rice or rice noodles
Top with shaved Parmesan