This weekend my sis was at home so sunday I did some italian food to celebrate her arrival, we watched The godfather, of which we know all the lines by heart. The theme of the evening being Italy, I cooked polpette for us. These are Italian meatballs, I hope you like the recipe.
Ingredients:
• 2 slices of stale bread, crust removed, cut into pieces
• 1 cup of milk
• 500g of premium minced beef
• 1 egg
• 1 handful of chopped parsley leaves
• 1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
• 40g grated parmesan
• 2 teaspoons of salt
• 1 teaspoon ground white pepper
• 1 brown onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove crushed with the back of a knife
• 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• 150 ml of red wine
• 2 cans of crushed tomatoes
• 250ml of water
• 1/4 bell pepper, in one piece
• salt to taste
preparation:
- Soak bread in milk for about 10 minutes.
- In a bowl, mix the ground beef with 1 egg, salt and pepper, the chopped parsley, the tip of a teaspoon of grated nutmeg and the grated Parmigiano (or Grana Padano). Use a spoon if you fancy touching raw meat, but in my opinion, hands are your best cooking tools.
- Squeeze the milk from the bread, add it to the meat mixture and mix.
- Using the palm of your hand, roll the polpette the size of small tangerines and set aside in the fridge to firm up for 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, sauté the chopped onion and garlic in a little olive oil until the onion is tender and translucent.
- Add your meatballs and brown them on both sides, then add 1/2 cup red wine. Let the alcohol evaporate, then compose 1 bay leaf, a piece of green or red pepper (pepper) two cans of tomatoes and water. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer covered for at least 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Adjust with salt and pepper. Add the basil leaves and serve with bread, mash or al dente pasta
Nilsa's world 