Broccoli meatballs flavored with olive oil

NUTRITIONAL VALUE

Energetic value for 4 people: kcal 1846,6 – Carbohydrates: 162 g – Proteins: 80,37 g – Lipids: 65,46 g – Total fiber: 17,6 g
Energetic value for 1 person: kcal: 461,65 – Carbohydrates: 40,51 g – Proteins: 20,09 g – Lipids: 16,36 g – Total fiber: 4,4 g

INGREDIENTS

For 4 people:

500 g of broccoli
150 g of panko bread for breading (to make it at home you need 200 g of durum wheat bread)
1 egg
30 g grated Parmigiano Reggiano
15 g mozzarella
salt 1 pinch
EVO oil to taste

METHOD

Cut the broccoli into small pieces and wash them well.

Boil them in a pan with plenty of water until they become soft, the fork must ”sink” into the broccoli and cook for about 30′ from the moment of boiling (fig.1).

In the meantime, prepare the panko bread for the breading which will give softness and consistency to your meatballs (fig. 2,3). With a bread knife, remove the crusts of the bread, without cutting, until you obtain only crumbs. Don’t worry if there are any pieces of crust left.

With a blender or blender (the one you have at home is fine) blend the bread until you obtain coarse pieces of crumb (it must not have the fine consistency of breadcrumbs). Place it in a bowl and add as much parmesan as you like (fig. 4).

Fig. 1

Fig. 2

Fig. 3

Fig. 4

Drain the broccoli well, allowing it to lose as much water as possible, place it in a large deep container and mash it with a fork until you obtain a homogeneous and compact mixture (fig. 5). Add to the mixture a whole egg, 150 g of mozzarella (you can replace them with ricotta or low-fat cheese as you like or use them individually for each meatball) and add a pinch of salt (fig. 6,7).

Mix the mixture well and shape into meatballs with your hands (fig. 8).

Fig. 5

Fig. 6

Fig. 7

Fig. 8

Place a drizzle of EVO oil in a saucer (fig. 9) and dip the meatball in it before breading (fig. 10,11). The oil will help the breading and will give an unforgettable aroma to your meatballs.

The work is now almost complete and you will soon be able to enjoy your dish. All you have to do is place the meatballs on a baking tray where you previously placed a sheet of baking paper and add a drizzle of oil over each meatball (fig.12).

Fig. 9

Fig. 10

Fig. 11

Fig. 12

Cook in a previously heated oven for 30 minutes at 200°C. Place the last 4 minutes in a convection oven to encourage crunchiness (fig.13,14).

Fig. 13

Fig. 14

Beautiful to look at, but don’t forget to eat them!

To make the dish even more complete, combine them with a 150 g portion of cooked vegetables.

Note: it is known that vitamin K present in broccoli can interfere with the pharmacological action of anticoagulants, therefore it is advisable to consult your doctor.