This Recipe Wants You to Know That Meatballs Are Totally Appropriate for Spring
When I think of meatballs, I think of cold winter nights and roasting pans. I think of spaghetti. Or lamb and raisin-y pesto, chicken with salty feta, or hoisin-laced turkey. I definitely do not think of spring. Then, on an almost warm April night, I made these chicken meatballs floating in a broth of barely cooked snow peas and celery, and I realized that a spring meatball is a real and wonderful thing.
If anyone can get away with a meatball soup recipe in late April, it’s Andy Baraghani, the man responsible for that lamb version as well as this little vegetarian number. He excels at lightening up classic recipes in ways that never feel diet-y (see: Spring Minestrone, Mushroom Larb), and by this point I’ve figured out a few of his tricks. In this one, the meatballs are poached in broth rather than browned in oil in a skillet or sheet pan. He doesn’t use bread crumbs, which means the whole recipe is gluten-free. And there’s so much ginger, scallion, and fresh veg going on in this recipe that it’s basically a salad in a bowl.
The meatballs come together with ginger, scallions, soy sauce, coriander, and a whole egg plus a yolk to bind the mixture. Mine were pretty wet, but they held together after about ten minutes in the fridge. While the meatballs chill, you lightly brown garlic and ginger in your stock pot, then add about six cups of water and bring everything to a simmer. (You already know how we feel about store-bought stock: If you use the right seasonings and ingredients, you don’t need it.) Drop in the meatballs and let them cook through, then toss in the sliced vegetables in the final minutes. I added a liberal handful of cilantro and a drizzle of olive oil to my bowl, but you could use any herb you like or none at all.
I could see myself eating these meatballs over chilled rice noodles, or adding other varieties of veg as they come into season, like fresh corn and long beans. It’s good to have a spring meatball you can love all year round.
Get the recipe:
Chicken Meatballs in Spring Vegetable Broth
