ItaliancookingTIPS!
To be soft, the dough must be hydrated … from the inside! For this reason, always add a soft ingredient to the solid ingredients, such as breadcrumbs moistened in milk or a boiled potato, crushed
Super Easy Polpette
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Loading...My “Super Easy Polpette” (and meatballs in general) are made mostly of meat, which must be excellent and very fresh. I usually buy a piece of beef steak (round steak - the back part of the animal) which is very tender. I ask my butcher to mince it in front of me. I do not leave the meat in the fridge, but I use it immediately to make my meatballs because, in contact with the air, the minced meat tends to dry out and oxidize, acquiring a metallic flavor. The mixture of meatballs is an act of pure gastronomic sensitivity: try to add a pork sausage to the beef, for an extra twist of taste and feel free to use the spices you prefer, following your taste.
Ingredients
- 800gr of minced round steak
- 2 slices of soft white bread
- 2 onions
- 1 teaspoon of Italian tomato paste
- 2 cans of Italian tomato sauce
- 1 egg
- 1 glass of milk
- minced parsley
- mixed herbs like dry oregano, dry sage, garlic powder (optional)
- salt & pepper
- 2 spoons of butter
- 2 spoons of extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
Take away the crust from the slices of bread and soak them into the warm milk, squeeze very well with your hands to obtain a mush - without large pieces of breadcrumbs - which will give the dough a softer and more delicate structure. If you want, you can replace the bread with a boiled, mashed potato
In a bowl, mix the minced meat with all the ingredients: egg, bread soaked in milk, parsley, spices (optional), salt and pepper. A good tip is to work the dough a lot with a wooden spoon, turning and turning until the meat is completely unraveled. Make a ball, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and, but it is not essential, let the dough rest in the fridge for half an hour
Meanwhile, chop onions thinly and put them in a pan with butter and oil. Add the tomato extract, salt, pepper and cook for 10 minutes. Complete with the canned tomato and cook your sauce, covered, on a very low heat
Prepare two bowls: one with water and another with flour. Wet your fingertips with water then take a little dough, shape it into a ball by pressing it very well in your hands, then pass it in the flour. Finally dip the floured meatball in the sauce. Remember to wet your fingers before moving on to the next meatball: it will be easier to shape the dough. The flour will add a lovely texture to the sauce and will prevent the meatball from breaking
When all the meatballs are in the pan, cook over low heat for about 20 minutes checking that the sauce does not get too thick. For this I cover the pan with the lid and add a little hot water if necessary. This type of cooking is called “in umido" (stewed) and gives the meatballs their characteristic softness
Once cooked (skewer one with a fork and check the inside), let the meatballs rest in their sauce until ready to bring them to the table, accompanied by a nice side dish of vegetables such as boiled potatoes, for example, which will mix perfectly with tomato sauce
Notes
Meatballs are excellent with sauce, we all know that. We Italians, however, do not eat them with pasta. "Bolognese spaghetti" was invented in the United States by Italian emigrants who, arriving in the new land, continued to cook the recipes of their culture learning to eat them American style: in a single dish. We do this: we prepare the meatballs with lots of sauce, which we use to season the pasta (our “Primo Piatto” the first course). Then, we serve the meatballs separately with side vegetables (our “Secondo Piatto” the second course). Try it too and you will see that, by themselves, the meatballs are much better!
ItaliancookingTIPS!
Having time, I prepare the dough half an hour before using it and let it rest in the fridge, well covered. The flavors will mix and the texture will become more homogeneous: so the meatballs will not break during cooking
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