Polpette al Sugo
The Path of Least Resistance
Things change as you grow older. Sometimes, maturity is reflected in increased responsibility (this winter, for the first time ever, I’m on track to finish a stick of lip balm before losing it) but my favourite part of getting older is finding comfort. You start to do what you want to do, not what you think you should do. You wear what you like and listen to what you enjoy rather what you’ve been told is good. This same timeline happens in cooking.
There are 2 schools of thought when it comes to cooking meatballs ‘al sugo’ (in sauce). You can either brown them off in the pan before adding the tomato, or poach them directly in the sauce from the start. Browning them off is full of heat and smoke and energy. It gives you a more meaty flavour, but a tougher surface. Perhaps this is a metaphor for angsty teenage years spent hiding the ‘real you’ behind a tough exterior. Perhaps it’s just a literal description of what happens when you brown a meatball. I haven’t decided what kind of writer I’m going to be yet.
The second option is poaching them directly in the sauce. This is the slow and gentle approach, and what you lose in meatiness you make up for in tenderness. These meatballs in particular, made from a mix of mince and ricotta, favour a gentle touch. They almost-but-not-quite fall apart, yielding to the push of a fork but not before. I’m writing this from the comfort of one of the 3 oatmeal coloured wool jumpers I now own, so you can guess which method I favour below.
Polpette al Sugo (Meatballs in Tomato Sauce)
Ingredients
250 g Beef Mince
250g Pork Mince
100g Ricotta
50 g Fine Breadcrumbs (not panko)
75 g Grated Parmesan
1 Large Egg
A Handful (about 20g) of Finely Chopped Parsley
2 Cloves of Garlic
2 Tins (800g) Chopped Tomatoes or Passata
200/250g quick-cook polenta
Olive Oil, Salt and Pepper
Method
(note: working with the mince and ricotta straight from the fridge will make this easier. If the mix gets warm it will stick to your hands)
Add the first 6 ingredients plus half of the finely chopped parsley to a large mixing bowl. Add a teaspoon of fine salt and 15 twists of a pepper grinder. Now, use your hands to really knead the mix together, like you would with dough. You want to squish it all around until you have a nice even, homogenous mixture.
At this point, it’s wise to heat up a small pan and fry off a little mini meatball to check for seasoning. I worked with a chef in France who would just go in raw for a taste when making sausage mix, so that’s an option too, depending on how hard you think you are. Taste and add salt to the the mix as necessary.
Grab a baking tray. Roll the meatballs into walnut size balls and set them onto your tray. If the mix is sticking to your hands, wet them slightly under the tap. Repeat until you’ve used all the mix. If you’re working through to the end of the recipe now then leave them out, if you’ve made them to be cooked later, pop them into the fridge or even freeze them for another time.
Put a saucepan over a medium low heat and add a generous 2 tbsp of olive oil. Press the flat side of your knife against the cloves of garlic and push with your palm to crush them a little. Peel and add to the oil (they should be slightly crushed open but not completely smashed apart). Let the garlic sizzle gently for a minute or so until lightly golden, add the remaining parsley and let it fizz in the oil for a few seconds, then pour in your tomatoes and add a teaspoon of salt.
Carefully add the meatballs to the sauce (they should be pretty much submerged) and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
I like to eat these with polenta. If you use the quick cook kind, it can easily be made in the time it takes the meatballs to cook. Make it according the packet instructions, as they will differ slightly depending on the brand. Just remember to season it nicely.
Spoon your polenta into shallow bowls, make a little dip in the centre and top generously with the meatballs and sauce. Garnish with more parmesan, a sprinkle of parsley, and eat with a big green vinegary salad.