Who knew that a “food stuff made of ground meat” could taste so good? I had no idea how many different kinds of meatballs there were until I did a little reading on Wikipedia. There must be thousands of recipes using every kind of meat you can imagine—not to mention vegetables. The meatballs that my mom (and my Great Aunt Irene) made while I was growing up were made with beef and onion which according to Wikipedia has more of a Polish influence. That makes complete sense since my ancestry is mostly Polish and some Scottish. This recipe is for an Authentic Italian Meatball. Molto buono!
2 lbs. ground pork
1) Pour half and half over torn bread and let soak for a few minutes.
2) Place pork, egg, cheeses, parsley, garlic, salt, pepper in a bowl. Add moist bread, and mix thoroughly.
3) Form 12 large meatballs.
4) Heat 1/2 inch of olive oil in a large pan to medium heat. (You can use less oil but using more will help the meatballs brown more evenly). Fry meatballs in two batches for several minutes on all “four sides” until evenly deep golden brown
6) Keep first batch draining on paper towels in a warm oven while second batch is cooking. Drain second batch on paper towels and keep in a warm oven. Serve with your favorite pasta and tomato sauce.
Italian Meatballs - Polpette
Ingredients
- 2 cups torn stale rustic bread (gluten-free or sprouted wheat works)
- 1/2 cup half and half (goat, coconut, or almond milk works)
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup pecorino romano, freshly shredded
- 1/3 cup parmesean reggiano, freshly shredded (sub manchego for another sheep milk version)
- 1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley
- 1 clove garlic, pressed
- salt and pepper
- olive oil
- fresh basil for garnish
Directions
- Step 1 1) Pour half and half over torn bread and let soak for a few minutes.
- Step 2 2) Place pork, egg, cheeses, parsley, garlic, salt, pepper in a bowl. Add moist bread, and mix thoroughly.
- Step 3 3) Form 12 large meatballs.
- Step 4 4) Heat 1/2 inch of olive oil in a large pan to medium heat. (You can use less oil but using more will help the meatballs brown more evenly). Fry meatballs in two batches for several minutes on all “four sides” until evenly deep golden brown.
- Step 5 5) Keep first batch draining on paper towels in a warm oven while second batch is cooking. Drain second batch on paper towels and keep in a warm oven. Serve with your favorite pasta and tomato sauce!
