Pasta Spaghetti con le Polpette (Video Recipe)

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SERVES 2

Ingredients

Makes approx 10 polpette (meatballs)

  • 125g x minced beef
  • 125g x minced pork
  • 100g x day-old bread the inside part (Mollica)
  • 7g x fresh parsley washed and picked
  • 1/2 x clove of garlic
  • 25g x grated pecorino cheese
  • 50g plain flour
  • 2 x jars Strazzanti ‘Sugo di Pomodoro’ sauce
  • 25g x pecorino extra for the pasta
  • 250g durum wheat spaghetti
  • Moresca extra virgin olive oil

 

The recipe is an ode to our Zio and Zia’s Neapolitan love story which we share in “La Bella Notte  ~ A Classic Romance”. The story also reminded us of a childhood film we grew up with, the classic ‘Lady and the Tramp’ moment where they ate spaghetti and meatballs whilst being serenaded with the music of “Bella Notte” (beautiful night)!  Here we share the recipe for this romantic dish to share with the loved ones in your life, with good wine, pasta and music.

Method

Pre-heat oven to 180 Degrees Celsius

Remove the crust of the day-old bread and into a bowl crumble in the inside of the bread which we call in Italian ‘Mollica’ and in Sicilian ‘Muddica’.

Into the same bowl add in your minced meat, 25g grated cheese, roughly chopped parsley and the garlic clove finely chopped with a good pinch of sea salt.

Mix the mixture well until all ingredients are thoroughly combined and easy to mould into balls “Polpette”.

Prepare a large frying pan with around half an inch of sunflower oil to shallow fry the Polpette. In the meantime, roll the Polpette to any size you prefer, usually we make 10 from this recipe.

Put the flour into a large bowl then place the Polpette into the flour and lightly coat.

Once all the Polpette are lightly coated in flour, and your oil is hot, gently place the Polpette into the oil and cook until golden brown.

Remove the Polpette and place in an ovenproof dish and add in 1 x jar of the sugo di Pomodoro.

Place the ovenproof dish with the Polpette and Sugo into the pre-heated oven, covered with a lid or foil and cook for 15-20 minutes until cooked all the way through.

In the meantime, take a saucepan and bring water to the boil. Season well with salt and cook al dente using the instructions on the pack to guide you.

Whilst the pasta and Polpette cook take the pan which you’ve fried the Polpette in and drain the oil out. Place on a low heat and add in the second jar of Sugo di Pomodoro and gently heat through.

Once the pasta is cooked drain and add into the pan of simmering Sugo di Pomodoro and mix well together finishing cooking the pasta in the sauce and drizzle with the Moresca extra virgin olive oil and grate inside 25g of Pecorino cheese.

At this stage, the Polpette should now be cooked and out of the oven, ready to assemble and serve the dish.

Finish the dish by plating up the pasta on a serving platter and scatter over the Polpette which should be nicely coated in the Sugo from the oven dish. Drizzle an extra drop of Moresca olive oil and a final grate of pecorino cheese.

For the Vegetarian Option

Take your aubergine and cube into 1cm pieces and place in a baking tray and mix with 4 tbsps of olive oil. Your oven should already be pre-heated at 180 degrees. Place the aubergine cubes in the pre heated oven for around 20-25 minutes until golden and cooked all the way through. Drain on kitchen roll to remove any excess oil and season with sea salt. To make your polpette use the cooked cubed aubergine mix in place of the meat in the recipe above and follow the same method as above.

Buon Appetito!

EDITORIAL

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