Baked Chili Chicken Meatballs with Sauteed Silverbeet

Prepare Ingredients:

Preheat oven to 200°C. Wash the fresh produce. Peel and mince garlic. Small dice onion. Halve chili lengthwise, discard seeds then mince. Tear the leaves of silverbeet into bite size pieces. Cut silverbeet stems into 1 cm slices.

Make Meatballs:

In a bowl, combine chicken, ¼ diced onion, half the garlic, panko bread crumbs, ketchup, half of the chili powder or to taste, and salt. Mix well by hand. Roll mixture into 3-4 cm balls and set on a foil-lined baking tray. Bake until golden brown, 20-25 minutes.

Cook Silverbeet:

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a medium pan over medium heat. Add ¼ diced onion, half minced green chili or to taste and silverbeet stems. Cook until stems are softened, about 5 minutes. Add silverbeet leaves and sauté until just wilted, about 3 minutes more. Taste and add salt as needed. Remove pan from heat and set aside.

Simmer Sauce:

Heat olive oil in a large high-sided ovenproof pan over medium-low heat. When oil is shimmering add remaining onion, garlic and chili. Sauté until onion is soft and translucent, 5 minutes. Add diced tomatoes, remaining chili powder or to taste, and salt. Increase heat to medium and simmer until sauce thickens, 10 minutes.

Warm Meatballs:

Taste sauce and add salt as needed. Add meatballs to sauce in pan. Sprinkle over cheese and return to oven to bake until cheese is bubbling, about 5 minutes.

You Plate It:

Divide meatballs, sauce, and silverbeet evenly between plates. Enjoy!