QUICK & EASY RUSTIC CHICKEN PICCATA MEATBALLS

Ready in around 30 minutes, this Lemon Chicken Piccata is an easy and quick restaurant-quality meal sure to impress.  The flavourful lemon piccata sauce has the perfect balance of lemon and butter! Served over creamy mashed potatoes, this recipe has been on repeat in our home this past year.

INGREDIENTS:

Chicken Meatballs:

• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

• 4-5 cloves minced garlic

• 1 tbsp lemon zest

• 1/2 tsp lemon juice

• 3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs

• 1 egg

• 1/3 cup chopped parsley

• 1 lb ground chicken

• 1 tsp salt

• 1 tsp pepper

• 1/2 tsp onion powder

• 1/4 tsp red chili flakes

Piccata Sauce:

• 1 tbsp butter

• 3 tbsp cold butter

• 5 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 tbsp flour

• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth

• 1/4 cup capers

• 2 tsp caper juice

• Juice of one fresh lemon (1/4 cup)

• 1/4 tsp black pepper

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 2 tbsp chopped parsley

DIRECTIONS

Meatballs:

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

2. Grease a rimmed baking sheet with olive oil.

3. In a medium sized bowl, add the chicken meatball ingredients and mix together well.

4. Roll into 20-24 meatballs using a heaping tablespoon of the chicken mixture. Periodically coat your hands with cooking or olive oil to help keep the mixture from sticking to your hands.

5. Place on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes.
   
   
   

Sauce:

1. Add the first 1 tbsp of butter and garlic to a frying pan or skillet and cook over medium low heat for 1 minute until fragrant.

2. Whisk in the flour and cook for 30 - 45 seconds.

3. Slowly pour in the chicken broth while you continuing to whisk.

4. Add the capers and their brine, and the lemon juice, and bring sauce to a simmer.

5. Add the meatballs and continue to cook for about 5-7 minutes until the sauce begins to thicken.

6. Lower the heat to low, and slowly stir in the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter. The butter will help the sauce thicken more.

7. Adjust salt and pepper to taste preference. Adding more butter will reduce the acidity if you don’t like your sauce too lemony.

8. Garnish with chopped parsley.

9. Serve with your choice of starch. We love these meatballs with creamy mashed potatoes but pasta or rice works well too.