Ricotta Chicken Meatballs in Basil Tomato Sauce

Steps

1. Prep first: mince the garlic and split it into two equal halves; finely dice the yellow onion; chop the parsley; tear the basil; and get the salad vegetables ready by chopping the romaine, slicing the cucumber, halving the cherry tomatoes and thinly slicing the red onion.
2. In a large bowl, combine the ground chicken, ricotta, egg, breadcrumbs, parsley, oregano, half the garlic, about two-thirds of the Parmesan (25 g), two-thirds of the salt and half the black pepper. Mix gently until just combined, then wet your hands and roll into 20 meatballs.
3. Heat half the olive oil in a large deep skillet over medium heat. Brown the meatballs on all sides, about 6 minutes, then move them to a plate (they will finish cooking in the sauce).
4. In the same skillet, cook the yellow onion for 4 minutes until soft. Stir in the remaining half of the garlic, the tomato paste and the red pepper flakes and cook 1 minute.
5. Add the canned diced tomatoes with their juice and bring to a simmer. Return the meatballs to the skillet, cover and simmer gently for 15 to 18 minutes, turning once, until the meatballs reach 165°F (74°C) in the center.
6. While the meatballs simmer, make the salad: whisk the remaining half of the olive oil with the balsamic, the remaining third of the salt and the remaining half of the black pepper, then toss with the romaine, cucumber, cherry tomatoes and red onion.
7. Toast the whole-wheat bread.
8. Stir the basil into the sauce, sprinkle the meatballs with the remaining Parmesan (15 g), and serve with the salad and the toast for scooping up the sauce.