Italian Meatballs - Polpette

Who knew that a "food stuff made of ground meat" could taste so good? I had know idea how many different kinds of meatballs there were until I did a little reading on Wikipedia. There must be thousands of recipes using every kind of meat you can imagine -- not to mention vegetables. The meatballs that my mom (and my Great Aunt Irene) made while I was growing up were made with beef and onion which according to Wikipedia has more of a Polish influence rather than Italian. That makes complete sense since my ancestry is mostly Polish and some Scottish. Since I don't have a family recipe for "Italian" meatballs, I followed the ingredients listed on Wikipedia. The results? Molto buono!

Italian Meatballs - Polpette

2 lbs. ground pork

2 cups torn stale rustic bread

1/2 cup half and half

1 egg

1/3 cup pecorino romano

1/3 cup parmesean reggiano

1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley

1 clove garlic, pressed

salt and pepper

olive oil

fresh basil for garnish

1) Pour half and half over torn bread and let soak for a few minutes

2) Place pork, egg, cheeses, parsley, garlic, salt, pepper in a bowl. Add moist bread, and mix thoroughly

3) Form 12 large meatballs

4) Heat 1/2 inch of olive oil in a large pan to medium heat. (You can use less oil but using more will help the meatballs brown more evenly

5) Fry meatballs in two batches for several minutes on all "four sides" until evenly deep golden brown

6) Keep first batch draining on paper towels in a warm oven while second batch is cooking. Drain second batch on paper towels and keep in a warm oven

Serve with your favorite pasta and tomato sauce!