Gluten Free Chicken Meatballs in Wine Cream Sauce

Today I wanted to make a meal with a Cream Sauce that I could pour over a Tagliatelle-Style pasta. And then I wanted it to be a one-dish meal, perhaps with a Swedish type meatball.
So, into the fridge I went only to find that I didn’t have any ground beef or pork, but I had Chicken thighs. I recalled reading that I could de-bone them and grind up the meat for meatballs, so that’s what I did.
Here is the result…and boy, it’s a homerun.

It may sound very complicated, but you can easily de-bone thighs. Or if you prefer, buy ground chicken, your choice. In any event you need 1 lb of thighs (before de-boning) or ¾ lb ground chicken. This yields approx. 30 meatballs, of about 1 ½ in. in diameter.

Ingredients:

You’ll need the Gluten Free Pasta, of course, but that’s the last thing on the show!

Meatballs:

1 lb. chicken Thighs, bone-in, or ¾ lb Ground Chicken Meat
¼ to ½ cup Milk
2 slices Gluten Free White Bread
Pinch Salt & Pepper
1/3 cup Gluten Free Flavored Bread Crumbs ( I used Gillian’s)
3 tbls Grated Italian Cheese; Parmegiano Regiano or Romano
Several Flat Leaf Parsley Leaves, minced very small pieces
1 Egg, beaten separately
1 large or 2 small Carrots. Shredded and separated into 2 half portions. One half in the meatballs, the other half in wine sauce as they cook.
2 tbls. Salted Butter

1/2 cup Chicken Broth (Add in small increments.Use discretion…may use part or all)
¼ cup White Wine (Use a wine you’d drink to achieve best flavor, not supermarket brand cooking wine.)

Sauce:

4 tbls Sweet Butter
¼ cup All Purpose Gluten Free flour
½ cup Milk, perhaps a bit more if sauce looks dry
2 tbls Cream Cheese
1 Sage Leaf (remove when sauce is done)
Salt & Pepper , Pinch of each
½ teas. Ground Nutmeg (Taste sauce when done, and add pinch more Nutmeg if you desire)

1/4 cup Chicken Broth

Directions for Meatballs:

Place the bread slices in a small bowl and soak in the milk.
After about 2 minutes, squeeze out most of the milk but it’s ok if the bread is still very wet. Set aside.

In a large bowl, place the ground chicken.
If you are de-boning your own thighs, just cut off skin and remove meat from bones. In a mini-food processor, place the chicken meat and pulse until it’s ground. It’s really easy.

To the ground chicken, add the bread crumbs, cheese, S & P, and the milk-soaked slices that you crumble up into very small pieces. I didn’t use all of the ends of the slices. Mostly use the white centers.

Add the egg and parsley and the first half of the shredded carrot.
Combine with clean hands and shape into mini balls, about 1 ½ in. in diameter. Don’t over-mix. The more you handle, the tougher it will turn out.

In a skillet, melt the 2 tbls. Salted butter and then saute the meatballs, turning once after each side has become a golden tinged. Should be about 3 – 4 minutes.  Here’s a shot at this stage:

Brown in butter until golden on 2 sides.

Add the wine, second half of shredded carrot and cover. Simmer on low for about 10 minutes and then remove from heat.
Set aside but don’t remove from skillet.

Sauce Directions:

In a small saucepan, make a roux. That’s placing the butter over low heat till melted. Than add the flour a little at a time, whisking after each addition.
Stir into a paste and no lumps are there.
Add the milk and cheese and continue to whisk until cream cheese is melted into the sauce. Add the S & P, and the Nutmeg. Stir. Add the Sage leaf.
Simmer for only about 5 minutes, but stay there, gently stirring to avoid sticking to pan. If this seems a little too thick, you may add a few spoons of chicken broth. Combine again with the gently whisking. At end, remove the sage leaf & discard.

In larger pot, boil your salted water and cook Tagliatelle noodles. (Schar makes a type that’s very good.) Cook until al dente.
Drain.
Add sauce and then meatballs on top.
Add some grated Italian Cheese on top to serve.  A closer view: