Archive

ITALIAN RECIPES

Meatballs

Simple Meatballs
Ingredients:
1 pound (450 g) not-too-lean ground beef
3/4 cup day-old Italian bread, crust removed and discarded, and crumb shredded
Milk (you'll want to have a pint - 500 ml - handy)
A large egg or 2 small ones
1/4 cup minced parsley
Salt & pepper to taste
A healthy pinch of nutmeg or whatever other ground spice suits your fancy (optional)
1/4 cup olive oil
Bread crumbs for rolling the meatballs (optional)

Preparation:
Soak the bread in enough milk so it is thoroughly wet through, 3-5 minutes. Drain it well, squeezing it gently to remove most of the milk -- you want the crumbs moist but not dripping.
Combine the crumbs with the ground meat, the egg, the minced parsley, the nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste, and knead the mixture well.

Then shape it into so many balls about an inch (2.5 cm) in diameter. If you like, roll them in bread crumbs.
Set a large skillet to heat with the oil, and add the meatballs. Cook, stirring, over a medium flame until they are browned on all sides, then pour in a half cup or slightly more milk.

Partially cover and simmer the meatballs until they are done and the sauce is considerably thickened. Serve, spooning the sauce over the meatballs, with a salad, spinach, or mashed potatoes.

The wine? Something light and zesty, for example a Dolcetto or a Chianti d'annata that hasn't seen much wood.

Garnished Meatballs
Ingredients:
Potatoes (see below for amounts)
Boiled meat
Parsley, onion, carrot, and prsociutto
Eggs

Preparation:
Begin by boiling or steaming about a pound of peeled potatoes; mash them when they have cooled. Grind 3/4 pound of lean boiled meat.
Mince together a small bunch of parsley (1/4 cup or so), a half a small onion, an equal volume of carrot, and two fine slices of prosciutto.

Combine the minced ingredients with the ground meat and the potatoes, and work three eggs, plus one or two whites if you have them, and 2 heaping tablespoons of flour into the mixture.

Make meatballs an inch in diameter from the mixture, roll them in abundant bread crumbs, and pan fry them in hot oil, turning them frequently so they brown on all sides as they cook; once they're done put them on absorbent paper to drain.
The meatballs can be served hot as is, dusted with minced parsley. However, they're at their best with fresh peas.

Mince 2 thin slices of pancetta (about an ounce) and a clove of garlic, and sauté the mixture in a pot. When the garlic is lightly browned stir in 3/4 pound of freshly shelled peas, about a half cup of boiling water, and several tablespoons tomato sauce.

Simmer the peas until done, adding more liquid if necessary, and shred a couple of leaves of basil into them when you remove them from the fire.
You can either serve the meatballs and peas separately, or you can stir the meatballs into the peas and transfer everything to a serving platter.

The wine? A light zesty red, for example a Chianti d'annata (the current vintage), or perhaps a robust white, for example a Vernaccia di San Gimignano.

Sicilian Grilled Meatballs
Ingredients:
2 1/4 pounds (1 k) boned veal or pork, ground.
5 ounces (125 g) pecorino Siciliano (if possible the variety with pepper corns in it, if not a mild Romano), freshly gra
1 cup bread crumbs, moistened in milk and then squeezed dry
3 eggs
2 tablespoons minced parsley
1 clove garlic, minced
Salt & pepper
Organically grown lemon or orange leaves, lightly oiled
Wooden toothpicks

Preparation:
Combine all the ingredients except the leaves in a bowl and mix well. Roll the meat mixture into balls a little smaller than a ping pong ball, flatten them slightly, wrap a leaf around each, and hold the leaf in place by sticking it with a toothpick.

When you have finished making your meatballs, grill them to taste.
Some people also include grated lemon or orange zest or juice (or both) in the filling.

Neapolitan Meatballs with Raisins and Pine Nuts
Ingredients:
1 1/3 pounds (600 g) ground beef
1/2 pound (225 g) day old bread Italian bread with a firm crumb
A bunch of parsley
An egg
1/4 pound (110 g) Parmigiano, freshly grated
Salt and pepper
A walnut sized chunk of unsalted butter
A garlic clove, minced, if you like it
1/4 pound (110 g) raisins and pine nuts
1 1/8 pounds (500 g) blanched, peeled, seeded, and chopped tomatoes
1/4 cup tomato paste
1/4 cup olive oil
A piece of an onion, minced
Olive oil for frying

Preparation:
Soak the bread in abundant water for 10 minutes. Remove it, squeeze it dry, and combine it with the meat and the parsley.
Put the mixture through a meat grinder (or blend it, using quick bursts to keep it from becoming a paste) and gather it in a bowl.

Add the egg, grated cheese, salt and pepper, butter, and garlic, and mix well, then add the raisins and pine nuts and mix again.
Using your hands, make meatballs that are about 2 inches (5 cm) in diameter; fry them a few at a time in the oil, removing them when they are golden, draining them well, and keeping them hot.

While you're frying the meatballs, cook up a quick sauce with the tomatoes, onion, and olive oil.
Heat the meatballs though in the sauce for a few minutes and serve.

Beef Meatloaf
Ingredients:
Boneless Beef (see below ofr amounts)
Sweet Italian sausages
Bread
Eggs
Onion and herbs
White wine

Preparation:
To serve 4 you'll need at least 1 1/4 pounds of boneless beef, which you should put through a grinder twice to obtain an evenly ground mixture.
Put the meat in a bowl and add to it the meat from two sweet Italian sausages (about 1/3 pound), the crumb from two panini (use two Italian rolls, scraping out the crumb and discarding the crust), two lightly beaten eggs, and minced onion, parsley and garlic to taste (I would figure 1/4 to 1/3 cup minced onion, 2 tablespoons minced parsley, and a medium-sized clove of garlic).

Work the mixture well to distribute the ingredients evenly and shape it into a loaf somewhat longer than it is wide. Roll the polpettone in flour and let it sit for an hour or so.

In the meantime, mince half of a medium-sized onion, a medium-sized carrot, a 6-inch celery stalk, and a small bunch of parsley. Sauté the mixture in the best extravirgin olive oil (1/4 cup or so), seasoning it to taste with salt and pepper, and when the onion has turned a light brown carefully settle the polpettone into the pot.

Continue cooking, turning it carefully to brown it on all sides. Stir a couple of tablespoons of flour, which will serve as a thickener, into 3/4 cup hot broth (you can use bouillon if need be).
Sprinkle the broth and 3/4 cup dry white wine over the polpettone, cover it, and reduce the heat to a slow simmer. Continue cooking for 40 minutes, checking every now and again to make sure it isn't sticking.

Should the sauce begin to dry out, add a little more broth, or, if the seasoning seems right to you, just warm water.
Serves with Chianti d'annata.

Buon appetito!

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