Polpette Fritti
Region: Italy
Category: Beef
Season: Any
Difficulty: Easy but special equipment needed
The secret to these meatballs is good quality bread and grinding the meat twice. Ask the butcher to do it or use a food processor to grind the beef and bread together. These meatballs go well with Crispy Fried Fennel in a Light Tomato Sauce.
Yield: Makes 4 servings
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
6 to 8 cups olive oil for frying
1 large slice stale round Italian bread or 4 slices stale French baguette (toast lightly if not stale)
Milk for dipping
1 1/2 pounds twice-ground beef
1/2 pound twice-ground pork
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/2 stalk celery, finely chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley plus more for sprinkling
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
All-purpose flour for dredging
1. In a deep-fryer or an 8-inch saucepan with a wire fry basket, preheat the frying oil to 370ºF.
2. Dip the bread in a little milk. Squeeze the milk out and crumble the bread into a large bowl.
3. In the bowl, add the beef, pork, egg yolks, bread, parmigiano, onion, celery, and parsley to the bread, and season with salt and pepper and knead vigorously and then, with cold wet hands, form the meat into meatballs the size of a small egg.
4. Dredge the meatballs in the flour, shake off excess flour, and deep-fry in batches until golden, about 4 minutes. As each batch finishes, drain on absorbent paper towels. Serve with a generous sprinkling of parsley.
Posted: 12/11/2006
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