Chicken Piccata Meatballs and Capellini
Recipe by Dena Fenza. “Now, I love a good pasta dish, but pieces of chicken just don’t belong in my bowl—it's just not how we did it growing up, and you won’t typically find it in authentic Italian cuisine either. But these chicken meatballs? They’re an absolute game-changer!” Paired with Bionaturae’s 100% Organic Capellini from Italy, this dish is as mouthwatering as it looks.
- Ingredients
- For the Meatballs
- 1 lb. ground chicken
- ½ cup, plus 2 tablespoons Italian-style breadcrumbs
- 2 tablespoons parsley
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 2 eggs, beaten
- ½ cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano, finely grated (use a microplane)
- 2 tablespoons Non-Pareil capers, chopped
- 1 lemon, zested
- Butter and Bionaturae Extra Virgin Olive Oil, to fry
- For the Sauce
- 10 tablespoons butter
- 3 garlic cloves, chopped
- ⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 cup white wine, (we used Pinot Grigio)
- 1 ½ cups chicken broth
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 3 tablespoon Non-Pareil capers
- 1 lemon, zested then juiced
- 2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 lb. Bionaturae Capellini of your choice
- Instructions
- In a bowl, combine the chicken, breadcrumbs, parsley, salt, pepper, eggs, Parmigiano, capers, and lemon zest. Form into balls.
- Heat butter and olive oil in a frying pan. Fry the meatballs for about 4 minutes on one side, then turn and sauté for another 5 minutes until cooked through. Remove the meatballs from the pan and clean out any excess oil and butter.
- For the sauce, heat 8 tablespoons butter in a frying pan and add in garlic.
- Sauté on low for 5 minutes and add in the wine. Raise the temperature to low/medium and reduce the wine for about 5 to 6 minutes.
- Then season with salt, pepper, capers, and red pepper flakes.
- In the meantime, boil the pasta.
- Into the sauce, whisk in 2 tablespoons of butter, lemon zest, and juice.
- Sauté for two minutes and add in the chicken broth. Simmer for two minutes.
- Add in the Parmigiano and whisk until the sauce thickens.
- Before draining the pasta, remove about 1 cup of pasta water. Drain the pasta.
- Add a little pasta water to loosen the sauce. Then get in the pasta and combine.
- Sprinkle in the parsley and add back the meatballs, coat in the sauce, and serve.
- Use more pasta water to loosen the sauce if needed.