I don’t know how traditional this recipe is, but it tasted nice. There are thousands of recipes for minced meat in Italy. They range from polpettine(meatballs), increasing in size through polpette (burger shapes) to polpettone(meatloaf). This recipe calls for veal, but beef would work well too. Serves 4
400 grams orecchiette — preferably fresh
250 grams veal — minced
150 grams fresh bread crumbs
nutmeg
parsley — chopped
1 clove garlic — minced
200 milliliters fresh milk
300 grams tomaotes — peeled, seeded and chopped or tinned chopped tomatoes
small handful of basil — cut into thin strips
small handful of rocket — cut into thin strips
1 medium onion — finely chopped
4 tablespoons ricotta dura — grated
olive oil
- Soak the bread crumbs in the milk for 15 minutes
- To make the meatballs, mix together the veal, bread crumbs, and parsley.
- Season with salt and pepper and a few grates of nutmeg.
- Knead the mixture until it comes together.
- Form into meatballs about the size of a grape.
- To make the sauce, fry the onion in a little olive oil for a few minutes and then add the tomatoes. Cover and cook over a low heat for about 15 minutes.
- Add the meatballs to the sauce and cook for a further 15 minutes
- A couple of minutes before the end of cooking, add the basil and rocket
- Serve with the cooked orecchiette and sprinkled with the ricotta
