One Pan Chicken Meatballs and Roasted Tomato Sauce

, from Issue #28. September, 2015
Photography by Vanessa Wu.
One Pan Chicken Meatballs and Roasted Tomato Sauce

Serves: 4

INGREDIENTS

Meatballs
1 cup fresh white breadcrumbs
finely grated zest 1 lemon
¼ cup milk
¼ cup finely chopped basil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
600 grams chicken sausages

Topping
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Sauce
1 kilogram large vine tomatoes
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 teaspoons dried oregano
3 tablespoons olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground pepper

To serve
hot cooked couscous, rice or pasta
piece of Parmesan for grating

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 200˚C.

Combine the breadcrumbs, lemon zest, milk, basil and garlic in a large bowl and leave for 5 minutes.

Squeeze the sausages out of their skins and add to the breadcrumbs.Season and mix until well combined. Don’t mix in a food processor. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Topping: Combine the tomato paste, soy sauce, olive oil and mustard in a bowl and set aside.

Sauce: Cut the tomatoes into quarters and place in a large bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and toss together. Tip onto a large, lipped baking tray and spread to a single layer. Roast for 15-20 minutes.

Using a tablespoon, roughly divide the chicken mixture into 16 meatballs. Remove the tomatoes from the oven and push them to one side of the tray.

Place the meatballs on the other side of the tray and using a pastry brush, brush with the topping. Roast for 15-20 minutes until the meatballs are fully cooked through and the tomatoes are very soft.

Pull the skins off the tomatoes if desired and lightly mash the flesh with a fork to make a rough sauce.

To serve: Place hot couscous, rice or pasta in shallow serving bowls. Top with the roasted tomatoes and meatballs and grate over a little Parmesan. Serve with Pear, Avocado and Mixed Greens with Pistachio and Tarragon Dressing.

Choose a nice, meaty chicken sausage, rather than a smooth-textured one. Most good butchers make their own sausages. You can substitute good pork sausages.