Chicken Meatballs cooked in fresh Tomato White Cabbage Sauce are made of ground chicken breast and taste mildly sweet and a bit tangy, with a soft, warm smell that goes well with the light flavor of chicken meatballs.
Comfort Food, or Main Dish?
For many, chicken meatballs are also considered comfort food. Small and looking all charming as they do, they can, be served as an appetizer.
Alternatively, these delicious and easily prepared, fluffy Chicken Meatballs in Tomato-Cabbage Sauce can be the main star of any casual meal.
As the main dish, I would advise molding larger chicken meatballs, let’s say, 1-1/2 times ping pong ball size.
Pre-Fry, or only Cook in the Sauce?
Chicken meatballs have a variety of textures, some of which are tender and juicy, or dry, condensed and a bit hard.
These chicken meatballs are pretty soft because the meat is raw when added to the pre-cooked boiling sauce. Not pre-frying them before adding them to the sauce creates juicy, and tender chicken meatballs.
Chicken naturally has lower fat/oil contents. Pre-frying ground chicken meatballs gain a firmer texture really quickly as the protein connections end up tough and dry, thereby making the meatballs harder. The high heat of the oil causes more liquid to evaporate from the chicken during the frying process.
On the other hand, cooking raw chicken meatballs directly in a sauce makes them absorb more liquid which contributes to their softness.
Adjusting Flavors According to Your Preference
Date Syrup
A favorite ingredient of mine that adds natural sweetness to the sauce is the naturally sweet date syrup/molasses (actually called ‘date honey’ from biblical times). For a sweeter sauce, add more date honey. We need date honey anyway, to take the bitter tang out of the sauce, which would come from the sugar-free crushed tomatoes.
Here are more meatball recipes:
- chicken meatball recipe with a picante tomato sauce.
- gluten-free, fluffy beef meatball recipe
A More Lemony Sauce Flavor
You can create a sauce that has more of a sour flavor by seasoning it with some lemon juice.
I’d recommend starting with 1/4 cup lemon juice, and then deciding whether you’d like to add more, or not. We wouldn’t want to start with more than that, as there will be no turning back to fix the overly sour sauce.
I hope you enjoy this recipe. If you have any questions or ideas, please leave them in the ‘comments’ section below.
Enjoy!
Mediterranean Chicken Meatballs in Tomato-Cabbage Sauce - Gluten-Free
Mediterranean Chicken Meatballs in Tomato-Cabbage Sauce - Gluten-free. Ground chicken balls. Kf Pessach with potato starch. Cooked in savory tomato-cabbage sauce and red bell pepper. Half of the recipe is conveniently prepared in a food processor.
Ingredients
The Sauce
- 5 cabbage leaves, chopped
- 2 x (10 oz.) cans rushed tomatoes, unsweetened
- 2 red bell peppers, sliced into thin strips
- 1 medium red onion, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon date-syrup, unsweetened
- 2 tablespoons apple vinegar
- 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (or other oil)
- 2 cups water
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
Chicken Mixture
- 10 ounces ground chicken breast (300g)
- 4 tablespoons potato starch
- 2 medium raw eggs
- 1 medium red onion, cut into quarters
- 3 large garlic cloves, sliced into halves
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1 cup freshly chopped parsley leaves
- 2 tablespoons paprika
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder (optional)
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper powder (optional)
Instructions
The Sauce
- Frying vegetables in oil for 5 minutes. Add spices and saute 1 minute. Add canned tomatoes and water. Cover, bring to boil and lower flame. Simmer for 5 minutes.
Chicken Mixture
- While sauce is cooking, food-process vegetables and spices for 3 to 4 minutes on high speed to form a paste. Add chicken, potato starch and eggs, in that respective order. Transfer to a large bowl.
Cooking Chicken Balls
- The mixture is not firm. Don't worry. Wet hands. Lift a bit of the mixture and gently plop from one hand to the other to form about 1 ½ size ping-pong balls. Don't attempt to form perfectly shaped balls as it won't be possible. The mixture is too smoothe. Transferring from hand to hand (hands are cupped) will do the job.
- Immediately place each one into the boiling sauce. Boiling on large burner and high flame for 5 minutes. Transfer to small-medium burner on a low heat to prevent burning of bottom of pot. Continue cooking for another 5 to 10 minutes. Check for readiness.
Notes
- 1 to 2 teaspoons hot paprika powder for a tinge of a picante taste
- Don't add extra potato starch to create more firmness of chicken balls. The mixture is meant to be extra soft.
- Do not place the chicken into the sauce unless it is actually boiling.
Nutrition Information
Yield
6Serving Size
2Amount Per Serving Calories 418Total Fat 29gSaturated Fat 5gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 22gCholesterol 105mgSodium 822mgCarbohydrates 28gFiber 7gSugar 11gProtein 17g
Nutrition values are estimated.