Meatballs with creamy polenta and gremolata

If you have leftover meatballs, use them in Derrell Smith's leftover-meatball sub with mozzarella or Italian meatball soup. 

Ingredients

Spicy meatballs

• 2.25 kg (5 lbs) chicken mince (ground chicken)
• ⅓ cup ricotta
• 1 egg
• 3 tsp (15 ml) Worcestershire sauce
• 1½ tbsp Dijon mustard
• ¼ cup fresh chopped parsley
• ¼ cup diced white onion
• ¼ cup chopped scallion
• 1½ tbsp kosher salt

Polenta

• 2 cups polenta grits
• 1.5 L (6 cups) water
• 1 cup heavy (thickened) cream
• ½ cup creme fraiche
• 3 tbsp unsalted butter

Gremolata

• 1 cup parsley
• 2 cloves garlic
• 3 tsp (15 ml) lemon juice
• ½ cup olive oil
• Kosher salt and ground pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 220°C (425°F).
2. For the meatballs, in a bowl combine ricotta, egg, Worcestershire, dijon, onion, parsley, scallion, and salt together, then fold in the ground chicken.
3. With an ice cream scoop, scoop meatballs onto a baking sheet 2.5 cm (1 inch) apart and bake at for 15 mins.
4. Meanwhile, for the polenta, in a saucepan bring water to a rolling boil, then slowly whisk in polenta grits, add more or less to achieve a slightly creamy consistency. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes.
5. Make gremolata: In a food processor chop parsley and garlic until a nice chunky consistency is achieved. Blend in olive oil until you’ve created a sauce then add lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. Finish with fresh lemon zest. Set aside.
6. Once grits have reached a thick creamy consistency, add heavy cream, butter, salt, and pepper to taste. Remove from heat and stir in creme fraiche.
7. Serve with polenta on the bottom, topped with meatballs and fresh gremolata.

Note

• Derrell also serves this with parmesan crisps (like this recipe).

If you have leftover meatballs, use them in Derrell Smith's leftover-meatball sub with mozzarella or Italian meatball soup.