Parmesan Chicken Meatballs with Poppy Seed Pasta and River Cress

Parmesan Chicken Meatballs with Poppy Seed Pasta and River Cress

Ready in 40 minutes Serves 2-3
This dish most recently appeared in My Gourmet (4 Nights For 2) on Sunday, October 22, 2017.

Watch meatballs while grilling to ensure they don’t burn.


Ingredients

Parmesan Chicken Meatballs

  • 300g chicken capsicum grind
  • ¼ cup fine breadcrumbs
  • ½ brown onion, finely diced
  • 1 teaspoon chicken spice
  • 3 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 egg
  • ½ teaspoon salt

Poppy Seed Pasta and Sauce

  • ½ brown onion, finely diced
  • 1 capsicum, core and seeds removed, finely diced
  • 1 courgette, finely diced
  • ½ teaspoon chicken spice
  • 1 can chopped tomatoes
  • 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
  • ½ teaspoon runny honey
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 3 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan cheese
  • 200g tomato and poppy seed pappardelle

To Serve

  • 1 pack micro river cress

Steps

  1. Preheat oven to 220°C. Bring a small pot of salted water to the boil. Set aside a medium baking dish. Place all Parmesan chicken meatball ingredients in a large bowl and mix well using clean hands. Evenly divide mixture into eight and shape into balls. Set aside.
  2. Heat a drizzle of oil in a medium pot on medium heat. Cook onion, capsicum and courgette for 3-4 minutes, until tender. Add chicken spice and cook for about 1 minute, until fragrant. Add tomatoes, vinegar, honey and salt, bring to a simmer and reduce to low to cook for about 5 minutes.
  3. While sauce simmers, heat a drizzle of oil in a medium fry-pan on medium-high heat. Cook meatballs for about 2 minutes, turning often, until golden but not cooked through. Place sauce into baking dish and top with Parmesan chicken meatballs.
  4. Sprinkle over second measure of Parmesan and bake for about 4 minutes. Switch oven to grill and cook for a further 2 minutes, until cheese is golden and meatballs are cooked through.
  5. While meatballs cook, shake pappardelle to separate strands and cook in pot of boiling water for 2-3 minutes, until just tender. Drain and return to pot with a drizzle of oil to prevent sticking. Using kitchen scissors, cut the entire section of micro river cress, leaving 1cm remaining at the base.
  6. To serve, divide tomato and poppy seed pappardelle between bowls and top with poppy seed pasta sauce and Parmesan chicken meatballs. Garnish with micro river cress.

Nutritional Information

Energy 2233 kj
534 kcal
Protein 43.7g
Carbohydrate 58.0g
Fat 14.6g