Chicken Meatballs with Hierbabuena {Recipe ReDux}

I love the theme for this month’s Recipe Redux…Spooky Spices. Surely I’m not the only one who has an obscure or seldom used spice hiding in the back of the cupboard? There are some that I only use once or twice a year, like caraway and anise. Then there are others that I have no idea why I bought them in the first place. In the case of hierbabuena I suspect I purchased it by mistake when outfitting my kitchen last year. Sometimes I reach for one thing in the store but for some reason something else ends up in my basket.

Hierbabuena is a member of the mint family. Most commonly it’s spearmint but depending upon the region other mints may be used. The leaves can be used fresh or dried. I’ve made a watermelon salad with feta and mint, and have used fresh leaves in smoothies, but in general I don’t have much experience with any type of mint except in teas and candies. The idea of eating mint in a savory type dish had never occurred to me until this challenge.

As with most things, Google and Pinterest are your friends when it comes to finding recipes containing hierbabuena. A number of them are sauce recipes which isn’t that surprising when you consider basil is related to mint. According to the the label on my bottle of hierbabuena, it’s perfect for sprinkling over vegetables, or with lamb or pork.

There were several chicken recipes from Latin American which caught my eye, but in the end I decided on the chicken meatballs with hierbabuena from Nathan’s Comida. The meatballs are seasoned with salt, pepper and hierbabuena instead of the usual Italian herbs. After browning the meatballs, they’re finished in a simple tomato sauce that’s also been seasoned with the hierbabuena. We made zucchini noodles to serve with the meatballs. They, too, were seasoned with the hierbabuena since mine was dried, finely ground and didn’t have a strong taste. You may want to dial it back if you’re using freshly cut mint.

Here’s a trick I learned from Rachel Ray when making meatballs: Check your seasoning by making a small test meatball. I ended up adding more hierbabuena after the taste test. I haven’t tried it yet, but I think if I were using freshly cut hierbabuena, I’d try 1/4 cup chopped hierbabuena, loosely packed, for the meatballs and more for the sauce and the noodles as needed.

Chicken Meatballs with Hierbabuena {Recipe ReDux}

Savory meatballs served in a simple tomato sauce.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe Rate Recipe

Cook Time: 40 minutes minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes minutes

Course: Main

Cuisine: Mexican

Servings: 6 - 8 servings

Author: LydiaF

Ingredients

For the meatballs

• 1 lb ground chicken
• 1 - 2 cups cooked rice
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1/2 large onion finely diced
• 1 egg
• 1 - 2 tablespoon dried hierbabuena
• salt and pepper to taste
• olive oil for sauteeeing

For the sauce

• 1 large can ± 2 lbs pureed tomatoes
• 1/2 large onion finely diced
• 1 - 2 cloves garlic minced
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon dried hierbabuena or to taste
• olive oil for sauteeing

For the zucchini noodles

• 1 large zucchini cut into noodles
• 2 teaspoons butter
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon dried hierbabuena or to taste

Instructions

• Save some effort by chopping all the onions and garlic needed at one time.

Make the meatballs

• Combine the ingredients listed for the meatballs in a large bowl and gently mix together.
• Form into 16 meatballs.
• Add a small amount of olive oil to a large skillet and brown the meatballs on all sides. Work in batches.
• Remove to a plate and hold.

Make the sauce

• Saute the onions and garlic in a small amount of olive oil in a large dutch oven.
• Add the pureed tomatoes, hierbabuena, salt and pepper.
• Gently add the meatballs to the sauce and stir to coat.
• Cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked through.

Make the noodles

• Wipe out the skillet used to brown the meatballs and heat the butter and olive oil over low heat.
• Saute the zucchini noodles until tender-crisp.
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Toss with more hierbabuena as desired.

Like this recipe?Be sure to Pin It for later!

My fellow bloggers in Recipe ReDux have made their own Spooky Spice dishes. Check them out in this month’s link up!