Poultry Meatballs with Pasta

 

This recipe from Weelicious was great! It was originally for chicken meatballs with mini wheel pasta, and in my kitchen it became turkey meatballs with farfalle. We found it a bit too salty, so I’m modifying the instructions below. The Little Prince, who does not like bocconcini, could still pick it out from his dish easily, so he didn’t mind it. We give this 4 thumbs up!

1/3 cup seasoned breadcrumbs (mine were plain)
1 large egg, beaten
2 tsp. salt, divided (I recommend 1 tsp. total, see note below)
1 lb. ground chicken (I used ground turkey)
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 28-oz. can tomato sauce
8 oz. lactose-free bocconcini mozzarella mini balls (it should say 0 g sugar on the label)
1 lb. piccolini or mini-wheel pasta (I used farfalle)
1 Tbsp. fresh basil, julienned

Cook the pasta 1 minute less than package directions call for. Drain the pasta and set aside.

Mix the bread crumbs, ground chicken, egg and 1 teaspoon salt in a bowl (I recommend omitting the salt here, or using half the amount).

With wet hands use 1 teaspoon of the ground chicken mixture to roll into each tiny meatball (mine were a little bigger).

Heat a large pot with 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat.

Cook the meatballs for 3 minutes, turning occasionally.

Add the garlic to the meatballs and cook for 1 minute.

Add the tomato sauce, remaining salt, and basil and continue to cook the meatballs and sauce for 8 minutes over low heat.

Add the cooked pasta and mozzarella balls to the pot with the sauce and cook until the cheese and pasta are heated through, about 2-3 minutes.

Serve.