Baked Chicken Meatballs

I know I've been sporadic at posting over the last year or two. (I blame pregnancy, baby, moving, etc. etc.) But lately I've been motivated to get back here more frequently and put more effort into this space of mine. I started this recipe journal 4 1/2 years ago. 600 recipes later I'm still here and still loving it. I think it's ready for some improvements though. I've started the process of moving over to Wordpress (which I currently know nothing about so I have some homework to do). I'm planning to revamp the recipe archives and add print features. And I have a few other exciting ideas! So if I seem absent for a week or two you'll know why. I'm working hard behind the scenes.

To tide you over until then, I made some meatballs. Mmmmm. With chicken and bacon (or pancetta if you're feeling fancy). I made them with the pancetta (and I've never paid so much $$$ for such a tiny slice of meat before). And they turned out wonderful but I think bacon would do the trick. My only plea is that you don't use ground chicken breast. It's just too lean and won't result in these impossibly succulent and juicy little gifts. They would be awesome over a bowl of pasta or on a toasted baguette. We devoured them with garlic mashed cauliflower (recipe coming soon) and roasted asparagus spears.

Baked Chicken Meatballs

INGREDIENTS
3 slices Italian bread, torn into small pieces (1 cup) (I used whole wheat bread)
1/3 cup milk
3 oz. pancetta or bacon, finely diced
1 small onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 large egg
1 lb. ground chicken (I used ground chicken thigh)
2 Tbsp. tomato paste, divided
3 Tbsp. fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Line a 9x13 baking pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil.

2. Soak bread in milk in a small bowl until softened, about four minutes. Squeeze bread to remove excess milk; discard milk.

3. Cook pancetta (or bacon), onion, garlic, 1/2 tsp. kosher salt and 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper in 1 Tbsp. olive oil over medium heat until the onion is softened and the pancetta has rendered some of its fat, about 8 minutes. Set aside to cool.

4. In a large bowl, lightly beat the egg and combine it with the ground chicken, 1 Tbsp. tomato paste, parsley, bread, and pancetta mixture. Form into about 15 meatballs and arrange on the prepared baking pan.

5. Combine the remaining Tbsp. tomato paste with a drizzle of olive oil and brush over top of the meatballs.

6. Bake in the preheated oven until the meatballs are just cooked through, about 20 minutes.

Makes about 15 meatballs, serves 4.

(Adapted from Gourmet via Smitten Kitchen)