So D’s brother asked for a meatball recipe last week at dinner…I did not have one as I had never made meatballs before. Ergo, a search was conducted (he had chicken sausage so I devised based on that plan) and then decided that I needed to try my hand at meatballs. I diverged from my original recipe and was pleased with the outcome. You can use any sausage that you want – I just bought ready made CM sausage hoping they had basil, garlic, chicken sausage but settling for Roma Sausage plus one link of Italian Turkey sausage for contrast.

The pasta is a variation of one of my absolute favorites (which – just because I love it so much – will be added at a  later date). It was different than the one I usually make but was still excellent and actually a little lighter. My only suggestion after eating (technically I wanted to make it this way but forgot to purchase the ingredient…sort of essential when cooking) is to add sun dried tomato (either reconstituted or paste) for a little but of a kick. I plan to next time.

Chicken meatballs with the best Pasta ever

3 slices Italian or other white bread, torn into small bits (1 cup) – I used Ciabatta this time around
1/3 cup milk (whole)
3 ounces sliced pancetta, finely chopped (you can swap in Bacon or prosciutto if you can’t find pancetta – I used prosciutto because CM was out of pancetta)
1 small onion, finely chopped (can also use shallot but double amount) – I used yellow because I had it and needed to use it up – white is fine as well
3 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 large egg
1 pound chicken sausage removed from casing (I used 2 links Central Market Chicken Roma Sausage and One link Medium Italian sausage also Central market)
2 tablespoons tomato paste, divided*
Sriracha to taste
Parmesan Cheese shredded (or grated)
Garlic Powder
Fresh Ground Pepper
3 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

Preheat oven to 400°F with a rack in the upper third of the oven. Soak bread in milk in a small bowl until softened, about four minutes.

Cook pancetta in a dab of oil rendering the fat. Add onion and garlic with salt and pepper in a large skillet over medium heat until onion is softened, about 6 minutes. Reserve.

Squeeze bread to remove excess milk, then discard milk. Lightly beat egg in a large bowl, then combine with chicken, 1 tablespoon tomato paste, pancetta mixture, bread, parmesan, black pepper, and parsley. Be gentle when mixing. Form meatballs and place on greased baking sheet.

Stir together remaining tablespoons of tomato paste and sriracha and brush over meatballs, sprinkle garlic powder and fresh ground black pepper, then bake in upper third of oven until meatballs are just cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes.

Arrange with pasta. Recipe as follows:

Little Ears, One Version

Rustichella d’abruzzo Orecchiette (YES IT MATTERS)
One pint cherry tomatoes, halved and seeded
Pecorino Romano cheese grated
1 cup chopped fresh basil
Fresh ground pepper 
Salt to taste
One Shallot-White Wine Sauce Recipe + some flour to thicken (add flour in with the shallots at the beginning so that the flour taste cooks out) 

Boil salted water and cook pasta to instructions. 

Begin making shallot white wine sauce (make enough for the amount of sauce that you want). After reducing add halved tomatoes and cook until the skins loosen and tomatoes lose their shape slightly. Combine with pasta and allow to cook a few more minutes. Add half of the basil, salt to taste, add pepper and cheese and stir gently but well. Garnish with remaining basil and some shaved Parmesan cheese then arrange meatballs as desired and EAT!