Ingredients

  • 1 pound spaghetti
  • 3 cloves garlic, grated or finely chopped, divided
  • 1 28-ounce can plum tomatoes, crushed with your hands or back of a wooden spoon
  • 1 15-ounce can crushed tomatoes
  • 1 pound ground all-white meat chicken
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tablespoons milk
  • 1/2 cup (a couple of generous handfuls) bread crumbs
  • 3/4 cup (a couple of handfuls) grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
  • 2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley, chopped
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 4-ounce piece mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
  • 10 leaves of fresh basil, chopped

Yield

Serves: 4 servings

Preparation

Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Once the water comes to a boil, add a generous handful of salt along with the pasta. Cook the pasta to al dente according to the package directions.

Place a medium-size sauce pan over medium-high heat, add EVOO. Add half of the garlic and cook until it starts to get lightly browned, about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and bring to a simmer, cook for 8-10 minutes and season with salt and pepper.

While sauce is simmering, place the ground chicken in a medium-size mixing bowl and add the egg, milk, bread crumbs, 1/2 cup of grated cheese, the other half of the garlic and the parsley. Season the chicken mixture with salt and pepper. Mix all ingredients together and roll into 12 medium-size meatballs, each about 2 inches round.

Place a piece of cheese into the center of each meatball and maneuver the meat around the cheese to seal it in the middle. Place the meatballs in the tomato sauce and simmer for about 10 minutes, or until cooked through.

Pour meatballs and sauce over the cooked pasta, sprinkle with the remaining grated cheese and basil, and serve.