Chicken Meatballs Florentine with Eggless Fonduta and Oven-Charred Broccoli | Ciao Italia

Ingredients

• FOR THE MEATBALLS
• 5 pounds ground chicken or turkey
• 1 16-ounce bag chopped spinach, thawed and drained of excess water
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 5-6 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup whole milk, half-and-half, or soy cream, or mixture of all three
• 1 1/2 cups Panko Bread Crumbs
• 1 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, freshly grated
• 2 teaspoons hot sauce du jour
• Sea salt, to taste
• Black pepper, freshly ground, to taste
• FOR THE SAUCE
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (unbromated, white whole-wheat flour preferred, but any will do)
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk, half-and-half, soy cream, or mixture of all three
• 8 ounces Fontina, diced
• Nutmeg, freshly grated, to taste
• 1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• FOR THE BROCCOLI
• 1 head fresh broccoli, (use just florets, or stems, too, depending on preference)
• 2 or 3 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped
• Filippo Berio olive oil
• Sea salt
• Black pepper, freshly ground
• Red pepper flakes (optional)