Chicken Parm Meatballs

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 your favorite pizza sauce or I use homemade sauce
about 4 ounces fresh mozzarella (a dozen thin slices; to pile on the cheese would be to cancel out the fact that you were virtuous enough to replace fatty beef with lean chicken)

Directions

In a large bowl, gently mix together first 11 ingredients. Shape into lacrosse-ball size balls (that would be a little smaller than tennis ball) 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. Place it in heated oven ( Preheat oven to 400°F) and bake for 15 minutes.

After that, remove meatballs from oven, put some sauce on top of each meatball, and cover each with a slice of cheese. Broil another 3 to 5 minutes until cheese is golden.  Heat remaining sauce in a small pan. Serve meatballs with a dollop of sauce and a raw Tuscan kale salad that has been shredded and tossed with shallots, olive oil,  a little honey, little of your favorite flavored vinegars, salt, and pepper.   Mmmmm!!!