Tuna meatballs with limoncello cream are surely a winning appetizer, but also a main course that leaves everyone amazed.
Today I will offer you both the classic cooking method and the one with Bimby, which you will find at the end of the recipe.

Designed for you

Difficulty: Medium
Cost: Medium
Preparation time: 30 Minutes
Portions: 4
Cooking methods: Cooking with kitchen robot, Stove
Cuisine: Regional Italian
Region: Sicily
Seasonality: All seasons

582.77 Kcal

calories per serving

Info Close

Energy 582.77 (Kcal)
Carbohydrates 34.04 (g) of which sugars 11.18 (g)
Proteins 27.31 (g)
Fat 35.85 (g) of which saturated 8.49 (g)of which unsaturated 24.15 (g)
Fibers 4.67 (g)
Sodium 1,536.55 (mg)

Indicative values for a portion of 250 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA^* and FoodData Central^** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.

^* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ^** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov

Ingredients

Let’s go shopping

10.6 oz Tuna (fresh)
1 egg
1 small glass limoncello (cream)
5.3 oz Onions (white)
3.5 oz Breadcrumbs
1.1 lbs Swiss chard (wide-stalked)
1.4 oz Pecorino Romano (grated)
1 clove garlic (minced)
1 bunch parsley (chopped)
1.4 oz Olive oil
to taste black pepper (ground)
to taste Salt
4 tomatoes (ripe)
7.1 oz Vegetable oil (only for the traditional version)
to taste pistachio flour

Tools

What we need to prepare the

Cutting board
Knife
Pan
Saucepan non-stick

Preparation

Usually the specimen is displayed on the fishmonger’s counter without the entrails, but if you find them it’s much better, it’s a sign of freshness.
Furthermore, its blood around the fishmonger’s counter should be rather fluid and not coagulated.

TRADITIONAL COOKING

Tuna meatballs with limoncello cream. To make a good dish, you must have excellent raw materials. So make sure the tuna is fresh.
Get some slices cut, remove the skin and bones.
Once the skin and bones are removed, mince it finely with a knife, I recommend not using a blender, otherwise the meatballs will become hard.
Put the minced tuna in a large container with the eggs, the seasoned breadcrumbs, the grated Pecorino Romano, the chopped parsley and garlic, the pepper and salt, and mix. If the dough seems a little dry, you can add a few tablespoons of water and oil.
At this point, moisten your hands and make the meatballs; they should be at most 3/4 inch in circumference.
Meanwhile, wash and cut the Swiss chard, keeping only the stalks; you can make a side dish with the leaves.
Cut off the end of the Swiss chard, and discard it, then cut another inch up to make this “rose” of Swiss chard that we will use for plating.
Boil plenty of salted water. Once it starts boiling, immerse the celery stalks and the rose. Cook for 5 minutes. Then drain and pour cold water over them to maintain their bright color.
Now add some vegetable oil to a pan and fry the meatballs, about 1 minute on each side.
As soon as they are cooked, let the excess oil drain off.
It’s time to prepare the limoncello sauce. In a non-stick pan, put a drizzle of oil and the chopped onions, and brown for 2 minutes.
After 2 minutes, pour in 50 ml of water and continue to stew for another 5 minutes.
At this point, put everything in a chopper and chop.
Choose a good quality limoncello cream. Homemade is better. Click here to see my recipe
Pour the mixture back into the pan and add 1 small glass of limoncello cream, stir
Then add the meatballs, adjust the salt and pepper, and stir for 2 minutes.
Plate with a little limoncello cream sauce underneath; use the Swiss chard stalks and rose for decoration as you like, and add a tomato. Sprinkle everything with pistachio flour. Here is the Tuna Meatballs with Limoncello Cream. An elegant appetizer or an excellent main course.
Meanwhile, wash and cut the Swiss chard, keeping only the stalks; you can make a side dish with the leaves.
Cut off the end of the Swiss chard, and discard it, then cut another inch up to make this “rose” of Swiss chard that we will use for plating.
Arrange the separated stalks and the end part in the varoma, close the lid.
In the bowl, put 700 g of water and 2 teaspoons of salt. Place the varoma tray and cook for 30 Min. /Varoma/ speed 1
After cooking, cool the Swiss chard with cold water, and set them aside. Discard the water and cool the bowl with more cold water.
Chop the tuna slices for 7 sec. speed 6. Then put them in a bowl,
together with the eggs, the seasoned breadcrumbs, the grated Pecorino Romano, the chopped parsley and garlic, the pepper and salt, and mix. If the dough seems a little dry, you can add a few tablespoons of water and oil.
At this point, moisten your hands and make the meatballs; they should be at most 3/4 inch in circumference.
Now peel the onions and coarsely chop them, put them in the bowl and chop for 7 sec. speed 5.
Gather with the spatula and add the oil you have on hand.
Sauté for 4 min. at 212°F speed 1. With the basket on top.
Add 1 small glass of limoncello cream to the bowl, stir for 1 min. spoon speed.
At this point, you can decide whether to fry the meatballs in the traditional way or to make the dish lighter by cooking them in the varoma.
You decide the shape,
If you choose to cook in the varoma, follow these steps:
Put 700 g of water in the bowl.
Arrange the meatballs between the varoma and the tray, and close the lid.
Cook at Varoma for 20 min. speed 1.
Then you can proceed with plating.
Pour a little limoncello cream sauce, make some decorations with the Swiss chard, as desired, and add a tomato.
Place the meatballs on top.
Here is the Tuna Meatballs with Limoncello Cream. An elegant appetizer or an excellent main course.