Craggy No-Roll Meatballs

A meatball doesn't need to be round to eat like one. These truly weeknight-friendly meatballs are rough around the edges (in the best way), with tender, juicy centers. Instead of scooping and rolling the meat by hand, a Parmesan, garlic and fennel-spiked beef mixture goes into a hot skillet in large loose mounds, then gets deeply browned and broken into craggy meatball-sized pieces. A smooth, simple pomodoro-style sauce, store-bought or homemade, is a welcome contrast that settles into all the irregular edges of the meat. These are good on their own or served with spaghetti or a sturdy kale salad.