Necessity is the mother of invention...So it goes with cooking.
I created these Chicken Cacciatore meatballs when I was craving the nostalgia of the simple, healthy Italian American dishes I grew up with, but my husband doesn’t like meat on the bone.
Chicken Cacciatore (Hunter’s Chicken in Italy, where this dish is often made with rabbit) is a simple, healthy, weeknight meal that comes together quickly. And these meatballs, if you have any leftover, make a great sandwich the next day.
You start by building your sauce. While that cooks, you make your chicken meatballs, and lightly fry them just to put a nice coating on them, before you finish them in the sauce.
As with most of my recipes, feel free to use your creativity to make it your own!
Chicken Cacciatore Meatballs
4
servings15
minutes1
hourIngredients
- For the Sauce
1 large 1 sweet onion
1 large 1 red pepper
1 lb. 1 mushrooms (any kind)
1 can 1 cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup 1/2 olives, pitted (green or black)
pinch capers
1 tbs. 1 dried oregano
salt
pepper
a generous pour of white wine
- For the Meatballs
1 lb. 1 ground chicken
3/4 cup 3/4 unseasoned breadcrumbs
3/4 cup 3/4 grated pecorino Romano
1 1 egg
parsley
1 clove 1 garlic, chopped
salt and pepper
1.5 tbsp. 1.5 good quality dried oregano
vegetable oil (for frying)
Directions
- To Make the Sauce
- Sauté the onion and pepper in olive oil with a pinch of salt and pepper until soft, 8-10 minutes.
- Chop your mushrooms and add those.
- Once they are browned a bit, add tomatoes and wine, you want this sauce like.
- Fill tomato can with water, add that.
- Season as you go with salt and pepper.
- Add olives, capers and seasoning and let this cook on a low flame while you do the meatballs.
- To Make the Meatballs
- Mix meat, breadcrumbs, cheese egg and seasoning till it becomes a cohesive mixture.
- Form your balls (I prefer them to be smaller).
- Once all the balls are formed, heat a bit of vegetable oil in a frying pan (you don’t need a lot of oil, since you’re not cooking these the whole way through).
- Working in batches without overcrowding your pan, fry meatballs till there is a nice golden crust on them.
- Once all meatballs are fried, add them to the sauce and finish cooking till the meatballs are cooked fully cooked, approximately another 20-30 minutes (if the sauce gets a little dry add some water/wine).
- Serve with beautiful bread and a side salad for a healthy, delicious weeknight meal.
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