she's cookin' in brooklyn

homemade lemon pasta & chicken meatballs

homemade lemon pasta & chicken meatballs

fresh pasta is something i had wanted to tackle for a while.  this recipe is great for beginners, there's nothing to stuff and you'll have a fluffy and delicious bowl of creamy goodness to show for your efforts.  my husband and i also ground the chicken and pork (yes, just a little pork to keep the meatballs moist and flavorful) for the meatballs ourselves but that's totally not necessary if you don't have a meat grinder. 



pasta
prep time: 20 mins
cook time: 6-8 mins
ingredients:

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 3 eggs
• 1 or 2 tablespoons water, if needed
• 1/4 teaspoon grated lemon zest

mix all ingredients with the paddle in a kitchenaid mixer on low speed.  swap to the dough hook and continue to mix on 2 until the entire dough ball sticks to the hook.  oil a stainless steel bowl and let the dough rest for about 20 mins. 

once dough has rested, divide it into quarters.  roll through a pasta maker (flour it lightly after every roll through) on the first setting and continue to tighten the settings until you can run it through on an 8 or a 9.  next, cut the ends of the pasta sheet so your fettuccine will be even and run the sheet through the fetticcine slicer.  flour your pasta one more time and hang it to dry.  it will be best if you cook it within a few hours, or freeze it from here.

meatballs
prep time: 10 mins
cook time: 20 mins
ingredients:

• 2 cups ground chicken
• 1 cup ground pork
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup italian breadcrumbs
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh basil
• 1 clove minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• grapeseed or canola oil to brown meatballs

pre-heat oven to 350.  put all ingredients in a bowl and mix together lightly with your hands. don't over-mix, just combine until all ingredients are incorporated.  roll out meatballs so they're a little larger than a golfball. 

in a large pan, heat enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan.  bring oil to medium heat and brown all sides of all of the meatballs.  once complete, pop them into the oven and cook for about 15 or 20 minutes.

pasta sauce

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 clove minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 2 teaspoons flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon salt plus more for pasta water
• 2 tablespoons fat free cream cheese
• 3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, plus more for topping
• 2 tablespoons fresh basil (place leave one atop the other, roll lengthwise and slice thin)
• 1/4 cup toasted sliced or slivered almonds

bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it generously.  get going on your sauce next.

melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. add the garlic and lemon zest and cook until garlic is slightly soft, about a minute. add in the flour and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon another minute. whisk in the milk and 1 teaspoon salt and cook, whisking constantly until thickened, about 3 minutes. add the cream cheese and parmesan cheese; whisk until melted. turn heat down to low.

drop pasta into boiling water for 6-8 minutes.  when pasta is almost done, reserve 1 cup of the pasta water and set aside. drain the pasta and return it to the large pot.  add the sauce and a half cup of the pasta water and combine all together until smooth and creamy.  add more water if your pasta seems at all sticky. stir in the basil and almonds. serve alongside meatballs and garnish with more fresh basil.