chicken meatballs with lemon orzotto

• porciones: 4 servings
• tiempo activo: 45 minutes

Ingredientes

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (or any cooking oil)

1 large egg

1 pound ground chicken

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided

1 tablespoon rosemary, finely minced

1/3 cup of any breadcrumbs or almond flour (I used almond flour and they were so tender and perfect)

Zest and juice of 1 organic lemon (preferably Meyer), divided

Kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, divided

1 large shallot, minced

2 garlic cloves, minced

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 cup orzo pasta

2 to 3 cups low-sodium chicken stock

1 cup frozen peas (optional)

Instrucciones

Preheat oven to 425°F. Grease up a 12-inch oven-proof skillet with 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil.

Crack 1 large egg into a bowl and whisk it. Add 1 pound ground chicken, 1/2 cup grated Parm, 1 tablespoon minced rosemary (mince the HECK out of it! Keep chopping until the pieces are teeny tiny! I hate getting a pokey piece of rosemary in my bite!), 1/3 cup breadcrumbs or almond flour, the zest of 1 lemon, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (omit if feeding spice wimps) to a large bowl and use a fork or your hands to stir until just combined.

Grease a tablespoon-sized measuring spoon with a bit of oil so that the chicken mixture doesn’t stick, then use it to scoop heaping (like majorly overflowing — each meatball should be about 2 tablespoons) spoonfuls of the chicken mixture into the skillet (don’t roll them until the end). You should wind up with anywhere from 14 to 18 meatballs. Grease up your hands (to prevent the meat mixture from sticking to your skin!) and roll the meat into meatballs.

Bake for 18 minutes.

Meanwhile, mince 1 shallot and 2 garlic cloves (but keep them separated on your cutting board — we’re going to add them at different times). Cut the zested lemon in half.

Transfer the cooked meatballs to a plate or bowl.

Place the skillet over medium heat (no need to wipe it out) and melt 3 tablespoons butter. Place the lemon cut-side down over on one side of the skillet to char it up (this will deepen the lemony flavor!).

Add the minced shallot and a pinch of salt to the other side of the skillet and cook for 5 to 7 minutes until tender. Stir in the minced garlic, 1 cup orzo, and 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes and continue cooking for 1 minute. Transfer the lemon to the cutting board. Stir in 2 cups chicken stock and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to medium-low and cook, stirring often, for 8 to 10 minutes, until the orzo is al dente.

Stir in more stock as needed until it’s loose and saucy, along with 1 cup frozen peas, the remaining 1/2 cup Parm, and the juice from the charred lemon.

Turn off the heat. Add the meatballs on top of the orzo and cover for several minutes to heat them through. Garnish with parm and red pepper flakes and some chopped parsley if you’ve got it. Dig in!

Notas

https://whattocook.substack.com/p/chicken-meatballs-with-lemon-orzo