Faith Middleton's Food Schmooze

Extra Helping: Little Meatballs

Servings

50-60tiny meatballs

Servings

50-60tiny meatballs

Ingredients

1/2bunch (about 8 ounces) sturdy greens, such as kale, broccoli rabe, or spinach,tough stems removed, leaves washed and dried
1small to medium yellow onion(6-8 ounces)
1pound ground chicken or any ground meat
3tablespoons fresh breadcrumbs(I use a sturdy wheat-less sandwich bread, like Sami’s)
1 egg
2tablespoons finely minced fresh parsley, basil, oregano, or thyme(or a mixture)
1-1/2teaspoons ground cumin
3/4teaspoon ground corriander
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1/4teaspoon ground turmeric
1-1/2teaspoon salt
freshly ground pepper
About 3tablespoons olive oilfor frying

Instructions

Very finely chop the greens; you should have about 2 cups. Separately, finely chop the onion. You can do this in a food processor with a series of pulses; just watch carefully that you don’t puree them.
In a large bowl, mix the ground chicken with the minced greens, onions, breadcrumbs, egg, herbs, cumin, coriander, cayenne, turmeric, salt, and pepper until well combined. Cover and refrigerate for at least 10 minutes (and up to 1 hour), to allow the moisture in the ingredients to equalize.
Use a pair of teaspoons (or a tiny ice cream scoop—I love any excuse to use my tiny ice cream scoop) to form meatballs about the size of grapes or cherry tomatoes—as small as you can bear to fuss with, remembering that they will shrink a bit as they cook. I like to get at least 50 of them out of the mixture if I can maintain the necessary patience.
Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a heavy skillet set over medium heat until it ripples. Working in batches, cook the meatballs for about 7 minutes total, shaking the pan around so the little fellows get tossed and all sides get nice and toasty golden.
Remove each batch to a heatproof dish as they are done, to await their further deployment. Add more oil to the pan as needed. They can be held at room temperature for up to 4 hours, or (once cooled) refrigerated in a covered container for up to a week. You can also freeze the cooked meatballs for up to a month.