Ingredients
- 1 1/4 pounds ground chicken
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
- 2 tablespoons chopped onion
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
- 1/2 cup pecorino (or parm)
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1 egg, whisked
- zest of half a lemon
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 14-ounce can storebought pizza sauce (such as don pepino’s)
- about 4 ounces fresh mozzarella
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400°F, setting rack to upper third part of oven. In a large bowl, using your hands, gently mix together first 11 ingredients. Shape into lacrosse-ball size balls (that would be somewhere between golf and tennis) and place a few inches from each other on a foil-lined baking sheet. In a small bowl, mix one spoonful of your pizza sauce with olive oil. Brush this mixture on top of each meatball. Bake for 15 minutes.
- Remove meatballs from oven, spoon some sauce on top of each meatball, and cover each with a slice of cheese. Broil another 3 to 5 minutes until cheese is bubbly and golden. Heat remaining sauce in a small saucepan. Serve meatballs with a dollop of sauce and a raw Tuscan kale salad that has been shredded and tossed with shallots, Pecorino, olive oil, salt, and pepper.