Big baked meatballs

Easy, happy Italian dinner.

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• Best for: dinner, serves 4-6

• Difficulty: easy

• Time: 15 minutes

• Recommended pairings: white rice, roasted baby potatoes

• If you like this, try... Baked pasta alla norma

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These meatballs are quick, easy, healthy (chicken instead of pork and equally good), and delicious. You will want to make them again and again. I imagined this recipe when making my Thai chicken meatball stew, realizing that I could replace the Asian ingredients with Italian. You can pair these with pasta or zucchini noodles, as pictured. I arranged everything in a buffet style, and everyone arranged their plates as they wanted.

Ingredients

1 large egg

2 pounds ground chicken

1/3 cup finely grated Parmesan, plus more for serving

8 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp kosher salt

ground pepper

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, plus more for serving

2 tbsp tomato paste, extra-concentrated if possible

1 bunch fresh parsley, finely chopped

16 oz of pasta (to serve 4)

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First...

Preheat oven to 425.

Mince the garlic in a food process, or chop as fine as you can.

To the large bowl, add the garlic, chicken, finely chopped parsley, tomato paste, red pepper flakes, oregano, grated parmesan, salt, and pepper.

Use your hands or a fork to fully combine but don't overmix.

Then...

Use your hands or an ice cream scoop to form 3-inch meatballs, about 20 meatballs.

Place on foil-lined pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Then...

Cook pasta in heavily salted water.

Top with meatballs, marinara sauce, grated or shaved parmesan, and more red chili flakes.