We developed this mortadella chicken meatballs dish as part of a special-occasion Japanese-inspired pasta omakase menu, feeling inspired by tsukune, the juicy chicken skewers popular as a drinking snack in izakayas. But it was so delicious that we now make these meatballs all the time, mixing ground chicken (ideally dark meat) and mortadella, the Italian-American version of bologna, which adds an extra dose of fat and flavor.
SERVING NOTE: These meatballs are great when rolled into a smaller size and served in chicken broth with pastina and a scattering of fresh green scallions and herbs on top, or in a sandwich with stracchino cheese and pesto.
Editor's Note: Appetito loves Don Angie, a critically acclaimed NYC Italian-American restaurant from Angie Rito and Scott Tacinelli. This recipe and adapted preface are from their book Italian American: Red Sauce Classics and New Essentials: A Cookbook.
Mortadella Chicken Meatballs
8 (24 meatballs)
servings30
minutes15
minutesIngredients
2 cups 2 nickel-sized chunks bread, crust removed (from about half an Italian-style loaf or small baguette)
1 cup 1 whole milk
1/2 pound 1/2 mortadella, roughly chopped
1/2 pound 1/2 ground chicken (preferably dark meat)
3 tablespoons 3 Roasted Garlic puree
1/3 cup 1/3 finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1 tablespoon 1 kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon 1/2 freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon 1/4 cayenne pepper
1/3 cup 1/3 thinly sliced scallions, whites only (4 to 6 scallions)
1 large 1 egg
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray the paper with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, combine the bread and milk and soak until the bread is thoroughly saturated, about 15 minutes.
- Squeeze the bread in a clean kitchen towel to wring out as much milk as possible and discard the liquid. You should have about 1¼ cups of wrung bread.
- Meanwhile, in a food processor, process the mortadella into small pieces, the same size as the ground chicken.
- In a large bowl, combine the chicken, mortadella, bread, roasted garlic puree, parmesan, salt, black pepper, cayenne, scallion whites, and egg and mix by hand until well incorporated.
- Form into 1½-inch meatballs (about 2 tablespoons each) and place on the lined baking sheet.
- Bake the meatballs until golden brown and firm, and a thermometer poked in the center reads 160°F, about 15 minutes.
- Serve immediately (and see also Serving Note for more suggestions). Leftovers keep, tightly covered in the refrigerator, for up to 3 days.
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