This 30-Minute Dish Is the Fan Favorite from Giada De Laurentiis' New Cookbook
Giada De Laurentiis is always cooking up something spectacular. In fact, many of us home chefs see Giada as an incredible mentor in the kitchen and have learned a few skills from keeping up with her. The queen of cooking recently released a new cookbook, Super-Italian: More Than 110 Indulgent Recipes Using Italy's Healthiest Foods, and it's sure to be a staple in everyone's kitchen.
When talking about her new cookbook, Giada told EatingWell, "A lot of people, myself included, feel that they go to Italy, eat all the pasta and pizza and they still feel good. I think that the reason for all of this is the way that we treat our land in Italy, how we grow our ingredients. We don't mass-produce things the same way, and the ingredients that we're putting into our food are really nutrient-dense. That is what this whole book is about."
One thing most people have in common? They like to cook and enjoy good food but always seem to be pressed for time. When we saw this 30-minute meal in Giada's latest cookbook, we weren't one bit surprised that it's a fan favorite. The dish we are referring to? Chicken Piccata Meatballs. (Yum!)
Giada's 30-Minute Chicken Piccata Meatballs Are a Fan Favorite
The recipe is chock-full of protein and calls for many simple ingredients most cooks have as staples in their fridge or pantry, including ground chicken, Italian parsley, capers, bread, and milk. It takes just 15 minutes of prep time and 15 minutes of cook time to come together.
Giada De Laurentiis writes on her Giadzy website, "I love taking familiar Italian flavors that I love, and transforming them into something different. One of my best-selling dishes at my restaurant are the chicken marsala meatballs, so I decided to do the same concept with the Piccata treatment. These meatballs are as tender as they get and packed with all of the bright flavors of chicken piccata. Serve them as an appetizer, alongside rice or orzo, or my favorite—over an arugula salad for a light lunch."
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To celebrate the release of her cookbook, Giada posted a tribute to her delicious Chicken Piccata Meatballs for all of her fans to enjoy. She captioned the post, "Chicken piccata meatballs are the most popular recipe from Super-Italian so far (& also Shane's fav!!) so enjoy Shane in the kitchen with me to celebrate."
The first part of the process is soaking pieces of white sliced bread in some milk to provide moisture and tenderness to the baked meatballs. As for the iconic piccata taste? Giada mixes together ground chicken, the soaked bread, lemon zest, egg, grated Parmesan cheese, capers, chopped shallots, and parsley. After the meatball mixture is fully blended, she rolls them.
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Before Giada rolls them, she offers an essential tip: "The trick to having [the meatballs] not stick to your hands is to keep your hands damp."
Next, the chef puts them on a baking sheet that's lined with parchment. Next, into the broiler the meatballs go for approximately seven minutes. Just make sure the finished product is golden brown!
For the sauce, you'll need items like olive oil, kosher salt, one shallot, low-sodium chicken broth, all-purpose flour, capers, freshly squeezed lemon juice, freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, and Italian parsley.
Check out the full recipe and directions on Giadzy. And lastly, bon appétit!
