Chicken Parm Meatballs
Baked instead of fried, dropped into simmering sauce, then finished under the broiler with a slab of fresh mozzarella. The batch makes fifteen, and that is the point — most of them are headed for the freezer.
Method
Heat the oven to 400°F and grease a rimmed sheet pan with olive oil or nonstick spray.
In a large bowl, whisk the Calabrian chilis, tomato paste, egg, grated garlic and salt into a smooth paste. Add the panko and Parmesan and whisk again until it is uniform, then add the ground chicken and fold gently until it just comes together. Getting everything else evenly mixed first is what lets you stop early on the meat, and overworked meat is what makes a dense meatball.
Oil your hands and keep a small bowl of oil within reach to re-coat as you go. Roll golfball-sized meatballs, about 2 tablespoons each — you should land on 14 or 15. When the mixture starts sticking to you, that is a cue for more oil, not more breadcrumbs.
Space the meatballs about half an inch apart on the sheet pan and bake for 10 minutes. While they are in, pour the sauce into a medium saucepan and bring it to a simmer over medium-low heat.
Move the meatballs into the simmering sauce with a slotted spatula, and start preheating the broiler. Once they are all submerged, drop the heat to low, cover, and give them 5 minutes. They are cooked through at the end of this step — everything after it is about the cheese.
Transfer the meatballs back to the sheet pan and ladle sauce over them, holding back enough for pasta if you are serving it. For the pasta: boil it in salted water per the box, lift it straight into the remaining sauce with a slotted spoon, toss to coat, kill the heat and cover to keep warm.
Lay a slice of fresh mozzarella on each meatball and put the pan under the broiler until the cheese is melted, bubbling and just starting to brown. This happens faster than you expect and it depends entirely on your broiler, so stand there and watch it. Tear basil over the top and serve.
Notes from the line
The batch is built for the freezer, so treat it that way. After the meatballs have had their 5 minutes in the sauce they are fully cooked — pull out however many you are not eating tonight, cool them at room temperature, and pack them away. Only the ones going on the table need the broiler.
To reheat, thaw overnight in the fridge rather than cooking from frozen. Meatballs and sauce into a rimmed sheet pan or shallow baking dish, covered tightly with foil so they do not dry out, 300°F for about 15 minutes. Then pull the foil, top with mozzarella, and broil as above.
Adapted from Wishbone Kitchen. Headnote and method rewritten for Dad Made.