POLPETTINE - ITALIAN HOUSEWIFE'S MEATBALLS
Zia Tea, my Italian aunt, used to make meat balls when she had left over meat which did mot make another meal for the family. She stuffed it in her meat grinder, ground it and then added raw ground meat. She was not wealthy in terms of money, so she had plenty of fruit, veggies and herbs from her wildly growing garden, but could not afford to buy lots of meat and especially no costly cuts of meat. My mother, studying in Rome during the late 1950s and early 1960s, used to spend her holidays with zia Tea, whose husband worked as a fisher, and they were quite poor but shared everything they had with my mother. The meat they occasionally had was cheap horses' meat and the fish mostly salted codd which lay around in the kitchen cupboard. When I was a child, zia Tea and her husband run a pet store and had some more money, but not much. No more horse meat and salted codd, but some inexpensive beef or pork cuts, thinly sliced turkey or sometimes one of the rabbits from the pet store. Stocking up the left over meat which she ground for polpettine, she used whatever was on sale at the local butcher's, so it was never exactly the same polpettine. But they were the best I ever had in my life! You can use every kind of ground meat you like and adapt the amount of garlic to your taste. She didn't use a lot so that the lemony flavor and the sage and celery were not overwhelmed.
Provided by Mia in Germany
Categories Meat
Time 40m
Yield 6 , 6 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 12
Steps:
- Chop garlic, celery leaves and potato.
- In a mixing bowl combine ground meat, bread crumbs, grated lemon peel, salt, chopped garlic, sage and celery leaves, potato, two tablespoons olive oil and the egg.
- Knead like bread dough and slowly add some milk to make a soft dough.
- The meat dough should be smooth and homogenous.
- Shape into 2 inch meatballs, flatten to about 1 1/2 inch thickness and fry in olive oil until golden brown.
- My aunt served them with a salad of cooked green beans and potatoes, seasoned with nothing but salt, pepper and savory and drizzled with olive oil.
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Masa
[email protected]I'll definitely be making these meatballs again. They were so easy to make and they tasted amazing.
Ahmad Wazir
[email protected]These meatballs were delicious! I loved the combination of flavors.
Akra Maima
[email protected]I'm not sure what I did wrong, but my meatballs turned out really dry. I think I might have overcooked them.
Faith John
[email protected]These were the best meatballs I've ever had! I'll definitely be making them again and again.
Khurram Baloch.SMPoultry
[email protected]I made these meatballs for a potluck and they were a huge hit! Everyone loved them and asked for the recipe.
Joyonto Ray
[email protected]These meatballs were a bit bland for my taste. I think I'll add some more spices next time.
Brandon Boardman
[email protected]I've never made meatballs before, but these were surprisingly easy to make. They turned out really well and my family loved them.
Troopers Revenge
[email protected]These meatballs were easy to make and they tasted great! I'll definitely be making them again.
Muhammad Yazidu
[email protected]I followed the recipe exactly, but my meatballs didn't turn out as good as I hoped. I'm not sure what I did wrong.
Khanlala Khanlala
[email protected]These meatballs were a bit too dry for my taste. I think I'll add some more milk next time.
Kristin Smith
[email protected]I'm not a big fan of meatballs, but these were really good. I'll definitely be making them again.
Tash Pk
[email protected]I made these meatballs for a party and they were a huge success! Everyone loved them.
Joshua Iipinge
[email protected]These were the best meatballs I've ever had! The flavor was incredible and they were so tender and juicy.
Ratan Rahat
[email protected]I've made these meatballs several times now and they're always a hit. They're so easy to make and they taste amazing.
BeeReALz
[email protected]These meatballs were absolutely delicious! I followed the recipe exactly and they turned out perfect. My family loved them.