Chicken and Shiitake Meatballs

Recipes from the NicoCaara kitchen are delicious, nourishing, wholesome, and (this bit is key) achievable. We love visiting, but the fine folk in their kitchen are sharing some of their favourite recipes with us so you can also recreate these in your own homes, and for your friends and families.

Our Asian Pear and Mint Salad was the perfect primer to NicoCaara’s repertoire of dishes, and we’re back for seconds with a dish that’s equal parts light and wholesome: a fresh seasonal salad with a hearty splash of vitamin C (from segmented oranges) to raise spirits and glazed meatballs that will melt in your mouth.

There is, we’ll admit, a little bit of prep involved, but once that’s done, assembly and finishing up is a breeze. 

Dress it up

Organic ingredients, little edible flowers, and thoughtfully prepared fruit and veg add flourish

Orange segments

Prep oranges like a pro with Chef Lokesh’s quick (and enviably effortless) walkthrough

17 minutes

47 minutes

1 person

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Summer style allthe way from Bentota

All you need is a subtle vinaigrette for flavour and that dewy sheen

The Asian Pear

Keep it looking lush long after you’ve prepped this little beauty

You will need

1 onion

1 garlic clove

Shiitake mushrooms 

100 grams

1 carrot

Minced chicken 

600 grams

Chives

20 grams

Sesame seeds

4 tablespoons (a sprinkle)

Sesame oil

2 teaspoons (a drizzle)

2 oranges

Honey 

2 tablespoons (a dollop)

Soy sauce 

4 tablespoons (a splash)

Mirin

4 tablespoons (a splash)

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For the glaze

Orange juice

4 tablespoons (a splash)

Honey

2 tablespoons (a dollop)

Soy sauce 

2 tablespoons (a drizzle)

Mirin

4 tablespoons (a splash)

Sesame seeds 

2 tablespoons (a sprinkle)

--

For the salad

1 segmented orange 

1 spiralised black carrot

Mint

20 grams 

Coriander 

20 grams

Millet 

100 grams

1 lime (a spritz)

Butter

1 teaspoon (a dollop)

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 220 degrees celsius and line the baking tray with parchment paper

Step 2

Gently cook the onion until its translucent and add the finely chopped garlic, mushroom and carrot

Step 3

Stir fry for about a minute, follow it with a tablespoon of cold water and keep cooking for another three minutes

Step 4

Transfer the cooked veggies to a bowl and allow them to cool

Step 5

Wet your hands and bring the meatballs together with mushrooms and chicken, mixing with your hands and prepping little walnut size balls before you place them on a tray.

Step 6

Spray the balls with oil and bake for 10 - 12 mins until they brown

Step 7

Put the ingredients for the glaze in a saucepan and simmer until glossy and syrupy. Brush the glaze on the meatballs and return to the oven for 4 - 5 mins.

Step 8

For the salad, gently toast the millet and boil it with with three times the amount of chicken stock. Bring the liquid to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer until the grains have absorbed most of the water (about 15 mins). Keep the stirring to a minimum. Take the millet off the heat, add a knob of butter, and let it rest (covered) for 10 mins. Once cool, add the rest of the chopped salad along with salt, pepper and a spritz of lime.