POLOPETTE / MEATBALLS

I get so so excited when my FEAST cooking magazine arrives in the mail every month. I’ve spent many a lazy afternoon pouring over my editions, thinking that one day soon I will try my hand at Peruvian cuisine, at creating a Chocolate Chilli Cake or at cooking a traditional Greek banquet. This SBS read has opened up my eyes to other cultures and their ways of life, traditions and of course, their food. Every edition a fortunate Australian family celebrates a ritual or cultural event from their heritage. This April issue the theme was Italian and the celebration was the annual Passata Day, a day in January where families come together to chop & boil tomatoes and bottle the delicious mixture, called passata, to consume throughout the year. This Polpette, or Meatballs, is just one of the Iuliano family recipes that I tried out and loved. If you are not dairy-intolerant feel free to use parmesan instead of pecorino, however I must admit that I much rather prefer the salty flavour of hard pecorino cheese to the 'smelly sock' taste of some parmesan cheeses! Keep your eyes peeled on the blog for more Italian delights coming soon. 

INGREDIENTS

• 500g extra lean minced beef
• 1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1/2 a large leek, finely chopped
• 2 eggs, preferably free range, lightly beaten 
• 1/3 cup hard sheep's pecorino sheep, finely grated
• 1 heaped cup gluten-free breadcrumbs
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley & basil, roughly chopped, plus extra parsley and/or basil, to serve
• 700ml passata
• 1 x 400g diced tomatoes
• 1 1/2 cups jasmine rice
• 3 cups beef or vegetable stock (preferably Massell brand) 

PREPARATION 

1. Combine mince, garlic, leek, eggs, pecorino cheese, breadcrumbs, parsley & basil and a pinch of sea salt and ground black pepper in a large bowl. Using clean hands, knead the mince mixture together until all ingredients are well combined. Shape approximately 2 tablespoons of the mixture into balls and repeat until all mince has been used. Place on a large plate/s or tray, cover and put in the refrigerator for 20 minutes to sit. 

COOKING 

1. A few minutes before the meatballs have finished sitting, pour passata, diced tomatoes and 1/2 cup of water into a deep frying pan and bring to the boil. Add meatballs to the boiling liquid, reduce the heat to low and cook for 25-30 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked all the way through and the sauce has thickened slightly. (Whilst the meatballs are cooking, place rice in a medium saucepan and add 3 cups stock or water. Bring the boil and simmer, covered, over low heat for 8-10 minutes or until all liquid is absorbed and rice is tender. Remove from heat and keep warm with the saucepan lid on top). Remove from heat and season. Serve meatballs on top of the rice or with pasta and scatter extra cheese and basil/parsley leaves on top if you wish. 

Makes / 22-24 meatballs

Total Preparation time / 20 minutes (plus 20 minutes to refrigerate meatballs)

Total Cooking time / 27-32 minutes 

x Emily