Buffalo Chicken Meatballs with Penne

By CheeseDiva

Ingredients

• 4 tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1/3 c. hot sauce, such as Frank's Red Hot
• 1/4 c. crumbled blue cheese, plus more for garnish
• kosher salt
• 1/2 c. panko breadcrumbs
• 1 celery stalk, chopped
• 1/2 c. chopped onion
• 2 Large garlic cloves, minced
• 1 egg
• 1/2 c. chopped parsley
• 1 lb. ground chicken
• 1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 lb. penne pasta
• 2 scallions, chopped

Details

Servings 1
Preparation time 10mins
Cooking time 30mins
Adapted from delish.com

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. In a small saucepan over medium heat, add butter, hot sauce, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and blue cheese. Whisk until butter and cheese are melted and fully incorporated, about 2 minutes, then remove from heat and let cool.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine breadcrumbs, 1/2 teaspoon salt, celery, onion, garlic, egg, and parsley. Add chicken and half the hot sauce mixture, blending until just combined. (Don't over mix.)
Coat a large cast-iron skillet in olive oil. Form 1" meatballs and place on the prepared skillet. Bake until lightly golden brown, 15 to 17 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook pasta in generously salted water according to package directions. Drain and reserve 1 cup pasta water.
In the same cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat, add cooked penne to the meatballs and reserved hot sauce mixture. Add pasta water until pasta reaches desired consistency. Top with crumbled blue cheese and scallions and serve.