Polpette al Ragù

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours

Servings: 6

Origin

• Region: Campania / Southern Italy

• Historical Context: Historically a dish of the cucina povera (poor kitchen), designed to stretch expensive meat by mixing it with stale bread, eggs, and cheese. Unlike Italian-American variations, these are served alone as a main course rather than over spaghetti.

Description

Tender, cloud-like meatballs crafted from a blend of minced beef and pork, bound together with milk-soaked breadcrumbs and plenty of sharp Pecorino Romano. They are slow-simmered directly inside a deeply concentrated tomato passata until impossibly succulent.

Presentation

Served in shallow earthenware bowls, swimming in a generous pool of vibrant red tomato sauce. Each portion is garnished with torn fresh basil leaves, a heavy snow of Pecorino, and crusty bread to scoop up the remaining sauce (fare la scarpetta).

Ingredients

• 300g lean ground beef

• 300g ground pork shoulder

• 150g stale rustic white bread (crusts removed)

• 120ml whole milk (for soaking)

• 2 large eggs, beaten

• 75g Pecorino Romano cheese, freshly grated

• 2 garlic cloves, minced into a fine paste

• 30g fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

• Fine sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

For the Sauce:

• 1 liter smooth tomato passata

• 30ml extra virgin olive oil

• 1 small yellow onion, finely minced

• 60ml dry red wine

• A handful of fresh basil leaves

Step-by-Step Directions

1. Soak the Panata: Tear the stale bread into small pieces and place them in a bowl with the milk. Let it sit for 10 minutes until completely soft, then mash it into a smooth paste using your fingers.

2. Mix the Meatballs: In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground beef, ground pork, milk-soaked bread paste, beaten eggs, grated Pecorino, minced garlic, and chopped parsley. Season with 1.5 teaspoons of sea salt and plenty of cracked black pepper.

3. Shape: Using your hands, mix the ingredients together just until combined; do not overwork the meat or the meatballs will turn out dense. Shape the mixture into golf-ball-sized spheres (approx. 50g each).

4. Start the Sauce: Heat the olive oil in a wide, heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat. Add the minced onion and cook until soft and translucent (about 5 minutes). Pour in the red wine and let it bubble away for 2 minutes to cook off the alcohol.

5. Simmer the Polpette: Pour the tomato passata into the pan and season lightly with salt. Bring to a gentle simmer. Carefully slide the raw meatballs directly into the simmering sauce one by one. Do not stir immediately to avoid breaking them.

6. Slow Cook: Cover the pan partially and lower the heat to a gentle crawl. Simmer for 1 hour and 15 minutes, turning the meatballs gently halfway through. The sauce will thicken into a rich, dark red coating. Stir in the torn basil leaves just before turning off the heat.

Optional Variations

• Polpette Fritte: Fry the meatballs in hot vegetable oil until a deep brown crust forms before dropping them into the tomato sauce for a firmer texture.

Cooking Tips

• Using milk-soaked stale bread (rather than dry packaged breadcrumbs) keeps the interior protein fibers soft and hydrated, creating an incredibly tender texture.

Nutrition Facts

• Calories: 410 kcal

• Carbohydrates: 16g

• Protein: 29g

• Fat: 25g

• Saturated Fat: 9g

• Cholesterol: 135mg

• Sodium: 780mg