For someone who loves Italian food but avoids pork, finding dishes where meatballs or pasta bolognese are made without pork can be a challenge—until I discovered a recipe by Italian American chef and Food Network star, Giada De Laurentiis. Her innovative recipe combines two classic Italian meals into one, using neither red meat nor a traditional meat sauce. If this dish were on restaurant menus, I’d never have to ask: “What meat is in the Bolognese?” Instead, I would confidently order this surprising pork-free masterpiece.
Get the recipe: Giada’s Chicken Piccata Meatballs
Ingredients You Need for Giada De Laurentiis’ Chicken Piccata Meatballs
For the meatballs you’ll need torn, soft white bread (without the crust), whole milk, freshly grated parmesan cheese, egg, finely chopped shallot, chopped capers, grated lemon zest from a single lemon, kosher salt, chopped Italian parsley and ground chicken.
For the sauce, you will need olive oil, chopped shallot, kosher salt, all-purpose flour, low sodium chicken broth, freshly squeezed lemon juice, capers, chopped Italian parsley and freshly grated parmesan cheese for serving.
Related: The Super Smart Meatball Trick We Wish We’d Known About Sooner
😋😋 SIGN UP to get delicious recipes, handy kitchen hacks & more in our daily Pop Kitchen newsletter 🍳🍔
Courtesy of Dante Parker
How to Make Giada De Laurentiis’ Chicken Piccata Meatballs
Preheat your broiler to high and position the rack at the top of the oven; meanwhile, drizzle olive oil over a baking sheet. In a bowl, mix torn bread, milk, Parmesan and egg until well-coated and mashed into a paste, then let sit for 5 minutes before stirring in shallots, capers, lemon zest, salt and parsley. Form meat into 1 1/2 tablespoon-sized balls and broil on the prepared sheet for about 7 minutes until golden. In a skillet, heat olive oil and sauté shallots with salt until fragrant. Whisk in flour, gradually add chicken broth and lemon juice, and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in the meatballs, cover and cook for another 5 minutes. Finally, stir in parsley, top with freshly grated Parmesan and serve.
Related: Giada’s Chicken Piccata is Weeknight Dinner Perfection
Courtesy of Dante Parker
What I Thought about Giada’s Chicken Piccata Meatballs
These meatballs tasted exactly how I expected them to taste, delicious! I didn’t doubt them for a second. I had a good feeling being that the recipe was based on chicken piccata but knowing that the recipe was also one of Giada’s very own, well that had me completely won over.
I had my doubts about how the bread would hold things together or about how many capers the recipe called for, but all those doubts were silenced after having my first bite of the dish. The flavors were perfectly balanced, and the meal was easy to prepare. Giada does it again with this Giadzy exclusive. I’ll be making this dish again for sure.
Related: I Tried Giada De Laurentiis’ White Pesto, and My Weeknight Dinners are Forever Changed
Courtesy of Dante Parker
Tips for Making Giada De Laurentiis’ Chicken Piccata Meatballs
- Dampen your hands with water before forming your meatballs. This will help keep the meat stick together rather than to your hands.
- If using “salt-packed” capers Giada recommends thoroughly rinsing them before using them. If using brined capers, she recommends both draining and rinsing them.
Up Next:
Related: The Simple Dinner Christopher Walken Calls His ‘Signature’ Dish
