My wife's grandmother became my Grandma Caroline when we moved into her tiny basement apartment for the first two years of our marriage. She spoke no English... I spoke no Italian. We communicated through food... mostly by way of the amazing Italian dishes she fed me. I was not a good cook four plus decades ago, so Grandma's cooking was always a joy.
She frequently made these little football shaped fried meatballs that were just to die for. Thinking back now on how much oil she used....... but OMG they were so good!!! They were, of course, beef based, but today I saw her smiling down at me as I attempted a similar version using white meat chicken... and a lot less oil. LOL
In a nutshell, I think today's creation would have Grandma Caroline smiling. I hope you do as well.
Enjoy!
- 1.5 lbs ground chicken or turkey
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup plus red onion - minced
- 1/2 cup plus baby portobello mushrooms - minced
- 3 tbsp fresh parsley - minced very fine
- 3/4 tsp garlic powder
- 3/4 tsp sweet paprika or half sharp for a little kick
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 cup plus flavored Panko
- 4-5 tbsp good quality olive oil
