A delicious remix of our famous meatballs. This flavor packed recipe has everything we love about a lemon-garlic piccata packed into one bite. The sauce is to die for, and it all goes perfectly over a bowl of pasta, mashed potatoes, or some white rice. Also, the leftovers are even tastier :)
This recipe was made with our Lemon Pepper Nut Crumbs ~ a nut-based bread crumb alternative. They are gluten-free, paleo, keto-friendly, vegan, and delicious! To purchase a bag click here.
Ingredients:
For the meatballs
In a large bowl, mix together all your meatball ingredients. Form meatballs with your hands and place on a sheet of parchment paper. Normally we make our meatballs fairly small, but for this recipe, we made them a bit bigger, since we will be frying them first, as we don't want them to overcook!
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large non-stick skillet, drizzle some olive oil, and heat it up to med heat. Once hot, place meatballs about an inch a part in the pan. You will probably have to do this in two rounds to cook everything properly without overcrowding the pan. Fry the meatball on one side for about two minutes and flip over to a new side. Given that meatballs are round, it's hard to get a perfect fry on all sides. We flipped out meatballs about three times so that most of the surface had a nice brown sear on it. Once the meatballs are browned, transfer them to a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Place in oven for 10 minutes.
If you are making pasta, mashed potatoes, or rice now would be a good time to get that started.
Now it's time for the sauce!
Rule number one - do not clean out your skillet! We want the yummy pieces that are left in the skillet to help flavor our sauce. Turn the heat on low. Add a small drizzle of olive oil to the pan and gently whisk to break off anything that's sticking. Add your butter and garlic and simmer on low for about 2 minutes, making sure the garlic does not burn. Next, pour in the chicken broth, lemon juice, brine, capers, and simmer for another 2 minutes, whisking occasionally. Lastly, add in 2 T. of Lemon Pepper Nut Crumbs and whisk until thickened (another 2 minutes.)
When the meatballs are done in the oven, add them back into the sauce and let simmer for an additional few minutes. I serve them right out of my cast iron skillet, topping them with parsley, basil, and more parmesan cheese.
Serve with your favorite starch or over spaghetti squash, making sure to get a generous spoonful of sauce in your bowl. A nice piece of crusty bread is essential to soak up all the goodness of the piccata sauce.
Enjoy!