Chicken and ricotta meatballs in tomato sauce
Serves: 6
Prep time: 30 minsTotal time: 
Recipe photograph by Craig Robertson
Chicken and ricotta meatballs in tomato sauce
Serves: 6
Prep time: 30 minsTotal time: 
See more recipes
Nutritional information (per serving)
Calories
380Kcal
Fat
19gr
Saturates
6gr
Carbs
22gr
Sugars
11gr
Fibre
3gr
Protein
29gr
Salt
0.8gr
Angela Boggiano
Angela is a freelance food writer, stylist and recipe developer who has worked in the industry for over 20 years. Testament to her Italian roots, she is always planning one meal ahead and good food is at the forefront of her mind.
See more of Angela Boggiano’s recipes
Angela Boggiano
Angela is a freelance food writer, stylist and recipe developer who has worked in the industry for over 20 years. Testament to her Italian roots, she is always planning one meal ahead and good food is at the forefront of her mind.
See more of Angela Boggiano’s recipes
Ingredients
- 1 x 460g pack skinless chicken thigh fillets, trimmed and roughly chopped
- 100g white bread, roughly torn
- 1 x 28g pack flat-leaf parsley, tough stalks removed
- 1 garlic clove, peeled
- 125g ricotta
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- zest of 1 lemon
- 40g Parmesan cheese, finely grated, plus extra to serve
For the sauce
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
- a large handful of fresh basil, roughly torn
- 1 tbsp honey
Step by step
Get ahead
The recipe can be made a couple of days ahead and stored, covered, in the fridge. It also freezes well, for up to 1 month.
- Put the chicken in a food processor and pulse until it is coarsely minced. Tip into a large bowl. Put the bread, parsley and garlic in the food processor and process until you have fine breadcrumbs. Tip these into the bowl with the chicken and add the ricotta, egg, lemon zest and Parmesan. Season and mix everything together until well incorporated. (This is usually easiest to do with your hands.)
- Roll the mixture into about 36 walnut-sized meatballs and put on a tray. Cover and chill while you prepare the sauce.
- For the sauce, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large, deep heavy-based saucepan and fry the onion until tender. Stir in the chopped tomatoes and then half fill the cans with water. Pour this into the pan and add the basil and honey. Season, then simmer for 15-20 minutes. Blend the sauce until smooth using a stick blender or food processor.
- Heat the remaining olive oil in a frying pan and cook the meatballs, turning frequently, for 4-5 minutes until golden all over. Drop the meatballs into the bubbling sauce and cook for a further 15-20 minutes. Serve with linguini, extra Parmesan and a few basil leaves.
