Chicken Meatballs With Red Pepper Ricotta Sauce

Ingredients for meatballs:

-1 package lean ground chicken (or lean ground turkey thigh)
-1 tsp dry basil
-1 egg
-6 or 7 crushed crackers (I used Breton), or 2 tablespoons crushed organic cornflakes or ground flax to make GF
-3/4 clove of garlic minced
-1/4 shallot/onion chopped finely
-sprinkle sage powder
-sprinkle sea salt
-chopped fresh herbs (I used poultry herb medley with parsley thyme and rosemary)
-Splash olive oil

Ingredients for side:

-1 large carrot chopped into strips
-1/2 clove of garlic minced
-1 tbsp grated hard cheese like grana padano or parm
-1/2 cup short grain brown rice

Ingredients for Roasted Red Pepper Ricotta sauce:

-1/3 red pepper, cut up and roasted in olive oil (I did this the night prior to save me time)
-1 glove chopped and roasted garlic (roasted it in oven with the peppers)
-1/4 cup low fat ricotta
-1/2 tsp dried cayenne pepper .
-1 tbsp smoked paprika
-1 tsp sea salt
-1/4 lemon juiced
-1/4 cup water
-1 tbsp olive oil

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 315F. Put a skillet with a bit of olive oil/avocado oil on medium heat on the stove.

2. Add all ingredients for meatballs together in a bowl and mix together with your hands. form into the size of balls you’d like. Set aside in the fridge while prepping the other components.

3. Start boiling short grain brown rice.

4. Put ingredients for carrots other than the cheese into a small baking pan and cover with a lid or baking sheet to contain the heat. Put in the oven.

5. Add all red pepper sauce ingredients into a blender. Blend together until smooth (helps to have a stir wand to put in the middle like Vitamix). Pour the contents into a small pot and put on low heat, stirring occasionally and adding more water if it is too thick.

6. Bring out the meatballs from the fridge and add to the skillet. You just want to keep flipping them around so that all of the outer sides of the balls are seared. Once this is finished put the cast iron into the oven or (if you used a regular frying pan), transfer onto a baking sheet and add to the oven where the carrots should be cooking. Remove covering from carrots to let the heat hit them directly. Cook both for another 15 minutes until the balls are sufficiently browned and carrots look cooked through and a bit crispy. Remove from oven.

7. Rice should be done by the time the balls and carrots are which can then be strained and plated. Add carrots and meatballs. Top with the roasted red pepper sauce and sprinkle grated cheese on top. Fresh parsley is another good addition. ENJOY!