Chicken Meatballs in Tomato Sauce

Ingredients

• 600g chicken mince
• 1 egg, beaten
• 50g panko breadcrumbs
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 2 garlic cloves, grated
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 40g Parmesan, finely grated
• 200ml hot chicken stock
• 1 carrot, finely diced
• 1 celery stick, finely diced
• 2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
• 2 tbsp tomato puree
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 2 garlic cloves, sliced
• 1 tsp dried basil
• Dressed green salad, to serve
• Fresh parsley, to serve

Method

1. Tip the chicken mince into a bowl with the cooled red lentils, panko, Parmesan, egg, grated garlic, oregano, a generous pinch of salt and plenty of black pepper. Mix with your hands until just combined — stop the moment it comes together. Overworked mince makes tight, bouncy meatballs. Roll into about 20 even balls and chill for 10 minutes if you have time; cold meatballs hold their shape in the pan.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large deep frying pan over medium-high until it shimmers. Brown the meatballs in two batches for 5 to 6 minutes each, turning often, until deeply golden all over. Don't crowd the pan — all at once and the heat drops, water leaches out, and you've steamed them grey instead of building that crust. Lift them onto a plate; they'll finish cooking in the sauce.
3. Drop the heat to medium, add the remaining oil, and cook the onion, carrot and celery with a pinch of salt for a full 10 minutes, stirring now and then, until very soft, sweet-smelling and just starting to catch gold at the edges. This is the flavour base — rush it and the sauce tastes thin.
4. Add the sliced garlic, tomato puree and dried basil, and cook for 1 to 2 minutes until the puree darkens to brick-red and smells nutty rather than raw. Watch the garlic — pale gold and fragrant is the target; don't let it burn or the whole sauce turns bitter.
5. Pour in the chopped tomatoes and the hot chicken stock, scraping up any stuck bits from the meatballs. The stock matters — it breaks the tinned tomatoes down so they taste of fruit, not metal. Add a pinch of sugar if your tomatoes are sharp, bring to a gentle simmer, then nestle the meatballs back in with any resting juices. Cover and simmer for 18 to 20 minutes, turning once halfway, until the sauce has thickened around the meatballs and they're cooked through (75°C in the centre).
6. Taste the sauce. Season again now — salt, pepper, maybe another pinch of sugar — and loosen with a splash of water if it's reduced too far. Adjust here, at the pan, not at the table. A small squeeze of lemon juice off the heat lifts the whole thing and cuts the richness of the cheese in the meatballs.
7. Spoon into shallow bowls over mash, pasta or alongside crusty bread, scatter the chopped parsley over the meatballs, and serve with lemon wedges for squeezing at the table.