Polpette Recipes

POLPETTE NAPOLETANE

Steps:

• Put the bread in a small mixing bowl, cover with milk, and leave to soak.
• Chop the parsley and garlic together. Put meat into a large mixing bowl. Squeeze the milk out of the bread and add to meat. Add parsley and garlic. Use your hands to mix the ingredients. Break eggs into the mixture to bind it. Keep mixing. Add the pecorino. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Shape meatballs by hand, make a hole in the top and insert a small piece of mozzarella. Cover it up and pat meatball into shape. Roll them in bread crumbs. Pour olive oil into a frying pan and when it's really hot, fry the meatballs for 5 minutes, or until they have formed a crust. Then turn over. When golden brown and crusty on both sides remove the meatballs from the pan and drain on paper towels.
• Add the meatballs to the tomato sauce, cover and cook very slowly on low heat for 45 minutes, until the sauce is reduced by half.
• Pour enough oil into a saucepan to cover the surface. Add garlic and 3 tins of tomatoes, mashing them slightly. Boil the sauce for 5 minutes and simmer for another 3 minutes.
• Cooking Time: 8 minutes

POLPETTE DI MAMMA

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, combine olive oil, basil leaves and garlic over very low heat until mixture is very fragrant and garlic turns golden brown, 10-15 minutes. Strain mixture, discarding basil and garlic; set oil aside., In a Dutch oven, combine crushed tomatoes, water, tomato paste, salt, chopped basil, pepper and reserved olive oil. Bring to a boil; remove ½ cup and set aside. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, while preparing polpette., Meanwhile, to make polpette, in a large bowl, combine all polpette ingredients and reserved 1/2 cup tomato mixture. Gently mix until combined (mixture will be loose). With wet hands, roll 1/4 cup mixture into balls. Place on a baking sheet or plate. Add raw meatballs to simmering sauce, gently shaking pan to allow for more space. Bring to a simmer; cook, covered, at least 45 minutes or up to 2 hours.

POLPETTES

Steps:

• Boil the potatoes in their skins in lightly salted water until soft; drain, then peel while still warm; place in a bowl and mash.
• Crumble the feta cheese into the potatoes and add the spring onion, garlic, dill, ground almonds, egg and lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Remember that feta is salty, so taste the mixture before adding the salt. Stir well so that al the ingredients are well combined.
• Cover the mixture and chill until it is firm; then divide the mixture into walnut-size balls, then flatten them slightly.
• Lightly coat the polpettes with flour; heat the oil in a pan, preferably non-stick and sauté the polpettes until they are golden brown on both sides.
• Drain on paper towels and serve immediately.

AUTHENTIC ITALIAN MEATBALLS/POLPETTE

Steps:

• Mix all ingredients together
• Form about the size of golf balls
• Make or pour tomato sauce into a deep pot Drop meat balls in sauce.
• Simmer for at least 2 hours.

ITALIAN EGGPLANT MEATBALLS / POLPETTE

Steps:

• Pre-heat the oven to 400F (200C). If Baking then lightly drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil on a small non-stick cookie sheet.

POLPETTE - ITALIAN MEATBALLS IN RICH TOMATO SAUCE

Steps:

• In a large bowl add ground beef and crumble it with a wooden spoon or simply using your fingers.
• Add finely chopped shallot. I like to use a microplane grater as it extracts all the juices to go with the meat and minces the shallot really well.
• Add ground nutmeg, breadcrumbs, egg(s) and Parmesan cheese.
• Mix everything well with your hands.
• Slowly pour in the milk. Mix again until smooth and even texture.
• Add salt and pepper.
• If the mixture feels too dry add some more milk, if way too soft, almost liquid-y - add more breadcrumbs.
• An ideal meatball mix should be moist, easy to roll in your hands and hold the shape.
• Preheat oven to 400 F.
• Pinch of about an ounce of meat and roll it between the palms of your hands giving it a smooth round shape with no cracks.
• With an ounce of meat you'll have medium size meatballs, think walnut size.
• Of course you can make your meatballs smaller or bigger, depending your preference.
• Place rolled meatballs on a baking sheet (see notes!).Line with parchment paper to avoid extra cleaning.Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes.
• In a large skillet pan add a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
• Add baked meatballs, tomato pure (clean the can/bottle with about a quarter cup water and add to the sauce).
• Add garlic cloves crushed with a flat knife, handful of fresh basil leaves and generous drizzle of dried oregano.
• Bring to simmer and cook on low heat for 15-20 minutes.

POLPETTE DI PATATE FRITTE (POTATO AND PROSCIUTTO FRITTERS)

Steps:

• Place shredded potatoes in a bowl; add flour, egg, and ham and mix well. Season mixture with salt and pepper. Form mixture into fritters.
• Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat; fry fritters until golden, about 5 minutes per side.

POLPETTE (TORPEDO SHAPED MEATBALLS)

Steps:

• Stir together bread crumbs and milk in a large bowl and let stand 10 minutes.
• Add meats, garlic, cheese, eggs, parsley, 1 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper to bread crumb mixture and blend with your hands until combined (do not overmix). Form 1 1/2 cups meat mixture into small torpedo-shaped meatballs (1 level tablespoon each). Reserve remaining 4 cups meat mixture for ragù .
• Heat oil in a 10-inch heavy skillet over medium heat until it shimmers, then fry meatballs in 2 batches (do not crowd), turning occasionally, until browned well and cooked through, about 2 minutes per batch. Transfer to paper towels using a slotted spoon and reserve oil for frying meatballs for ragù.

POLPETTE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Mix together the beef, pork, cheese, breadcrumbs, milk, parsley, salt, pepper and eggs in a large bowl, then roll into small balls and place on a baking sheet. Bake for 40 minutes.
• Heat oil in a deep-fryer to 350 degrees F. Fry meatballs for 1 minute. Top with your favorite marinara and freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano.

EGGPLANT POLPETTE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 175 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit)
• Cut the eggplant into small cubes. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan on medium heat, add the diced onion, garlic, cubed eggplant and stock, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Allow to cook for approximately 15-20 minutes until all of the eggplant has become soft and the liquid has been absorbed.
• Transfer the mixture to a food processor or blender and pulse once or twice but no more, you want the larger pieces to break down but you do not want the entire mixture to turn into a smooth puree. It should remain chunky.
• In a bowl combine the eggplant mixture, chopped basil, almond flour, parmesan and egg white and blend until well combined.
• Line a baking tray with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray to ensure its well greased.
• Spoon out 1-2 tablespoon sized amounts of the mixture into your hands and roll into balls the size of a golf ball. Place on the baking sheet approximately an inch apart.
• Bake in the oven for 35-45 minutes, flipping the balls half way through. Keep an eye on them to make sure they do not burn. They are done when they become more firm to the touch.
• While the meatballs are cooking, make the sauce. Chopped the tomatoes into small pieces. Place them in a medium sized pot on medium-low heat along with the olive oil, crushed garlic and diced onion.
• Allow to cook for 15-20 minutes until the onion becomes transparent. Add in the canned tomatoes, lower the heat and allow to simmer for 45 mins to 1 hour.
• Add in the oregano, chilli flakes and chopped basil. Taste the sauce, if its too tart, add in the honey. Season with salt and pepper.
• Serve the eggplant polpette on zucchini noodles or spaghetti squash, topped with the tomato sauce and garnished with parmesan and chopped basil

POLPETTE

Steps:

• 1. Set the oven at 400 degrees. 2. Strain the porcini and squeeze out excess water from the mushrooms. Finely chop the mushrooms and transfer to a bowl. Add the beef, bread crumb mixture, prosciutto, Parmesan, eggs, salt, and pepper. 3. With wet hands, roll the beef into rounds the size of golf balls. Set onto a wax-paper-lined plate. 4. Heat a large skillet with a heatproof handle over medium heat. Add about 3 tablespoons oil, or enough to coat the bottom of the pan. 5. In a shallow bowl, roll the meatballs in the flour one at a time. Return to the wax-paper-lined plate. 6. Gently add the meatballs to the oil. Cook for 2 minutes on one side, then gently turn with tongs and cook 2 minutes on the other side. 7. Add enough wine to make a shallow layer in the pan. Bring to a boil and transfer to the oven. Cook the meatballs for 15 minutes, turning once or twice. Remove from the oven and let the meatballs rest for a few minutes, Serve with the juices in the pan.