Chicken Polpette Casserole and Baked Kale Chips

Polpette was on my to do list ever since i borrowed the book from the library. but life kept interfering and it wasn't till last Friday that I could get it done. and then i realized that i could have cooked this up on any other weeknight... it was so simple and so easy.... and so DELICIOUS. we all loved it. and by all i mean even my little toddler.... 

though polpette is supposed to be shaped like meatballs... i simply cooked my chicken mixture in a casserole and sliced out individual pieces and served it with Annie's Noms' Caramelised onion mashed potato and  baked Kale chips. the mashed potato was yummy and the three tasted really good together. however Nishi and i both felt that the chicken tasted even better on Monday when we had the leftovers with our Indian meal of Rajma-Chawal (Rice with Red Kidney Bean Curry). don't know if  the chicken became more delicious with a two days of refrigeration or it was the combination... but we definitely relished it more on Monday.. now over to the recipe.

for the Kale chips

i used the following ingredients

1/2 bunch kale

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

salt and black pepper to taste

and proceeded as follows..

I preheated the oven to 350 degrees F, cut the leaves from the ribs, washed and dried them and chopped them into 1 inch pieces. i then drizzled it with olive oil and the seasoning and baked it for 10-12 minutes.

for the Chicken Polpette

i used the following ingredients

1 cup milk

6 inches from a loaf of french bread (I used French bread because that is what i had.)

4 pieces of tender chicken(marinated overnight and cut into small pieces)

3 tablespoons of dry parsley leaf

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

2 cloves of garlic, finely grated

1 egg, lightly beaten

2 tablespoons of Cooking Marsala Wine

10 Kalamata olives, halved length-wise

1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs

salt and pepper to taste

marinade for the chicken
   1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste 
   1 tablespoon vinegar 
   2 teaspoons hot pepper sauce 
   2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce 
   1/4 teaspoon salt

and proceeded as follows...

the night before i cooked the dish I cleaned and chopped the chicken tenders into 1 inch pieces, 

whisked the ingredients of the marinade, pour it into a resealable plastic bag and added chicken pieces coating them evenly with the marinade. then sealing the bag i marinate the chicken in the refrigerator for over 24 hours.

i preheated the oven to 350 degree F. 

next, i heated the milk until warm and placed strips of the bread in the warm milk till they absorbed the milk completely. this hardly took any time. maybe a few seconds. i then transferred the bread strips to a board and finely chopped them and placed them in a large bowl.

once that was done, i added the rest of the ingredients to the pieces of soaked bread and hand-mixed them till they combined completely. then transferring the mixture to an oval casserole dish, i baked it for 20-25 minutes. and after letting it rest in the oven for an additional 10 minutes i served it for dinner....

so that was my Friday night special.... what was yours ? I'll love to hear....

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"Flavors of Series 4 around Europe" by simply.food hosted at Divya's Culinary Jouney,  Bon Vivant #12 - Quixotic Fixes at Summee's Culinary Bites, Cook like a Celebrity Chef at Food Corner, Made with Love Monday at Sew Chatty, Mealtime Monday at Couponing & Cooking, Tasty Tuesday at 33 Shades of Green, Whats Cooking Wednessday, 
Wednessday Whatsits, Foodie Friday hosted at Home Maid Simple and Simple Living and Eating, Your Creative Timeout Party {No.71} and Saturday Dishes-Cassarole at Hammock Tracks.