Ingredients
| MEATBALLS | |
| 500g premium lean minced (ground) beef | |
| 500g premium lean minced (ground) pork | |
| 100g pecorino, freshly grated | |
| 3 garlic cloves, crushed | |
| 100g Japanese breadcrumbs or 4 slices of fresh white bread processed into breadcrumbs | |
| 2 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf (Italian) parsley | |
| 6 eggs, lightly beaten (I use extra-large eggs, around 60g) | |
| 125ml extra-virgin olive oil | |
| SAUCE | |
| 2 × 400g tinned finely chopped tomatoes | |
| 1 tablespoon white (granulated) sugar | |
| 1 good handful of fresh oregano, chopped |
View the recipe collection here
Instructions
| 1. | To make the meatballs, combine all of the meatball ingredients except the olive oil in a large bowl and season with salt and pepper. Mix well by hand. |
| 2. | Add 125ml water and mix again to loosen the mixture a little. |
| 3. | Cover the bowl with cling wrap and refrigerate for 2-3 hours for all the flavours to dance and get along with each other. |
| 4. | Before you start to form the balls, scoop a tablespoon of the mixture and fry it to check the seasoning. Adjust if required. |
| 5. | With damp hands, form the mixture into balls about the size of a table-tennis ball. Set aside on an oiled baking tray. |
| 6. | Preheat the oven to 180°C. Prepare a large roasting tin by brushing half of the olive oil over the base. |
| 7. | Heat the remaining olive oil in a large, deep frying pan over a medium heat, then gently fry half of the polpette, turning them over as they get a little colour. |
| 8. | Transfer this batch to the roasting tin and cook for about 15–20 minutes. Set aside and keep warm. |
| 9. | While the first batch of polpette is in the oven, fry the remaining meatballs in the pan, adding a little more oil if required. |
| 10. | This time, once the polpette get a little colour, add the tomatoes, 125ml water, sugar, oregano and season with salt and pepper, stirring to combine. |
| 11. | Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20–30 minutes. |
| 12. | Serve both types of polpette on separate platters for your guests to help themselves. |
| 13. | Alternatively, if you have a big enough saucepan you can cook all of the polpette in the sauce (double the sauce ingredients). |
| 14. | You could also serve the polpette and sauce with pasta. |
| 15. | Once the pasta is cooked, add it to the polpette and sauce and allow it to rest for 2–3 minutes with the lid on. |
| 16. | Divide between individual bowls and serve with pecorino. |
This is an edited extract
from Pranzo by Guy
Mirabella (Hardie
Grant Books), RRP
$70. Photography
by Guy Mirabella.