Grated Pasta, Lemon-Chicken Meatballs & Peas in Broth
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Cook time: 
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Makes: 6-8 servings
 
Like always, this is my recommendation: if the recipe below yields enough for two nights for your family, only cook the amount of pasta and peas you need for the night you plan to serve it. This way they're both freshly cooked (your peas will still be bright green and the leftover pasta will not soak up the broth). Once the soup base is made, remove half from the pot and let cool before storing. Proceed with the recipe, with the broth still in the pot, adding only half the pasta and peas. On the night that you reheat, bring the soup to a simmer and add the remaining peas and pasta.

I prefer to bake my meatballs, rather than sautéing them in the pan or boiling them directly in the soup. But, if you prefer not to turn on the oven, you can cook them in the pan, until mostly cooked, remove them, and then proceed to sautéing the onion and garlic. As for shaping them, I like to use a small scoop and I don't bother reshaping them, because they're never going to come out round, if baked, anyway. If you do not have a small scoop, use a tablespoon measure, or guesstimate. I ended up with 37 meatballs.
What you'll need
  • Grated Pasta
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten (additional egg needed for meatballs, below)
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1-2 teaspoons water (if necessary)
  • Lemon Chicken Meatballs
  • 1.5 ounces panko breadcrumbs
  • 1 ounce grated pecorino romano
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • heaping ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 organic lemon, zested (reserve lemon for serving)
  • 1 pound ground chicken
  • 2 large scallions, washed, trimmed and finely sliced (additional scallion for serving)
  • 1 large clove garlic, peeled and finely chopped (additional garlic needed for soup)
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 2 teaspoons olive oil
  • The Soup
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 large white or yellow onion, peeled and chopped
  • 6 large cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
  • 2 quarts chicken stock (8 cups)
  • kosher salt and pepper
  • Chicken Meatballs
  • Grated Pasta
  • 2 cups frozen green peas
  • For Serving
  • Sliced Scallions, Grated Pecorino Romano, Lemon Wedges
How you'll make it
  1. For Grated Pasta
  2. In bowl, whisk together flour and salt. Stir in beaten egg and olive oil. Transfer to work surface and knead until it comes together. (The original recipe stated that the dough will be on the dryer side, but it was pretty clear early that mine was overly so. I drizzled a bit of water and it seemed better; a bit more made it perfect. I would make the pasta without the water, only adding it if necessary and at that point, only a bit at a time.)
  3. On the large holes of the box grater, carefully grate pasta. It will not be perfect. It will be OK. Let stand for 30 minutes; use in the recipe or transfer to an airtight container and freeze.
  4. Lemon-Chicken Meatballs
  5. In small mixing bowl, stir together panko, pecorino romano, salt, pepper and lemon zest. In large mixing bowl, gently combine chicken, egg, scallions and garlic; add panko mixture and mix just until combined. Using 1 tablespoon cookie scoop, form chicken mixture into balls, placing each one onto a greased rimmed baking sheet as you go. (If you play your cards right, you can keep your hands almost clean through the entire process.) Drizzle with olive oil.
  6. Heat oven to 375°F. Roast meatballs 13-15 minutes, or until almost completely cooked through.
  7. Grated Pasta, Lemon-Chicken Meatballs and Peas in Broth
  8. In large saucepot over medium-high heat, warm olive oil. Add onions, sprinkle with kosher salt and black pepper, and cook 10-15 minutes, or until the onions are softened and have started to just turn golden, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and cook 2-3 minutes, more, or until the garlic is nearly golden, stirring often.
  9. Add chicken stock. Increase heat to high; bring soup to a boil. Taste (carefully!) and adjust seasonings with kosher salt and pepper (obviously you don't want it to be too salty, but remember, this is the soup and, you'll be cooking your pasta in the liquid, so you want it to be tasty).
  10. Add chicken meatballs, pasta and peas; cook 5 minutes, or until the pasta is al dente, the peas are hot and bright green and the meatballs are cooked through.
  11. Divide amongst bowls; sprinkle with scallions and grated cheese. Serve with lemon wedges.
How to plan ahead
• The pasta can be made up until one month ahead of time and frozen in an airtight container.
• The ingredients for the meatballs, the soup and the toppings, can be prepped one day ahead of time and stored in the fridge.
• The chicken meatballs can be made up until two days ahead of time, stored in a single layer on a rimmed sheet pan and wrapped well.
• The soup, up until simmering the broth and seasoning it, can be made up until three days ahead of time. Let cool before covering and storing in the fridge.
Recipe by at https://www.lifeaswecookit.com/grated-pasta-chicken-meatballs-peas-broth/