I have never made boiled meatballs, I swear, nor have I ever eaten them in my life before today (i.e., today while I’m writing, although you will read me in a few days π).
Here they are, these are our very first boiled meatballs, and they are entirely mom-made.
Which, strange but true!, never made boiled meatballs nor, even she, ever ate them before today.
All of this is taken from a true story π which I will tell you after the photo. 
The Light and Tasty column reopens today, and like last year, it has assigned us the task of inaugurating the new year with, rightly so, a post-Christmas recycling recipe.
I was very undecided about the recipe to dedicate to this release, I already had three ready plus one planned (many recyclings this year!), but in the end, I decided that these boiled meatballs best represented the light spirit of the column (because they are not fried), the tasty one (because they turned out so good they disappeared in no time), and also the recycling spirit.
This year, in fact, the Christmas boiled meat “did not go” very much during the Christmas lunch, usually, it is the most popular second course, but this time the other second courses were more successful, and a lot of boiled meat was left over. So much that it was our second course for two other lunches, obviously sprinkled with green sauce. Also left over.
It happens, you know, putting together three families always produces a certain excess of dishes, even if we agree in advance (I prepare this and you that), but you know how it is… everyone then prepares (yes, almost always) something more, and you always realize later that “there was too much stuff”!
I confess that sometimes my instinct leads me to think that these excessive eating productions are perhaps a bit outdated and β shall we say it? yes, let’s say it β also a bit unethical. I believe that the sense of Christmas should be something other than bringing three second courses and four side dishes to the table after a substantial first course (when not two) and after appetizers, and before various desserts like panettones and pandoros, perhaps stuffed, plus the inevitable traditional dried fruit desserts and other delicacies.
True, conviviality is also based on the variety of dishes, and true, for older people, who in times gone by experienced Christmas differently from us, it is difficult to change such deeply rooted and comforting traditions.
But it is also true (and this is comforting for me) that at our house everything that is left over always ends up back on the table in the following days, nothing is ever wasted, especially the boiled meat which we like very much even recycled, but neither those broken cappelletti dispersed in the broth, nor the wine left in the bottle, nor the sauce that aunt left in our fridge. (And then recycled with great joy, so much so that it will be the guest of honor in the next recipe! π€).
And so, the epilogue of this year’s boiled meat was this:
after having brought it to the table for two days as we always do because we like it so much, with green sauce or mayonnaise (and that’s why we had never made boiled meatballs), this year when on the third day mom told me “There’s still some boiled meat, do you want it?”….
Ohhh Gosh! π―
Is there still some????
Uhhhm… mom, what if… mmmm… we tried to make meatballs??
And so it was that my almost-octogenarian mom ventured for the first time into this new and daring production.
Achieving, but we had no doubt, an excellent result. π€©
γ°γ°γ°
π For more recycling ideas, take a look here! π
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Cheap
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 15-18 meatballs depending on size
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Regional Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
It’s impossible to indicate precise weights, those I list below are estimated. Because, like any respectable grandma’s recipe, it’s all done by eye. π
- mixed boiled meat (perhaps 500-600 g (1-1.3 lbs))
- 1 potato
- 1 egg
- breadcrumbs (a couple of handfuls)
- parmesan (a couple of handfuls)
- to taste nutmeg
- to taste lemon zest
- tomato puree (about 300-400 g (10.5-14 oz))
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (in the sauce)
Tools
- Food Processor or Chopper
Preparation
First, cook the potato (or use a leftover potato from Christmas lunch).
In any case, the potato is optional.
If, as tradition dictates, the boiled meat includes capon or hen, proceed to remove all bones and any small bones.
In this recipe, which is very simple in itself, this is the most precise operation, you must be sure that there are no unwanted pieces left in the meat.
Place the meat and potato in the food processor (or chopper) and blend until you get the desired consistency (I prefer it coarse, but it’s a matter of taste).
The meat can also be chopped with a knife.
Season as usual for meatballs: add an egg, breadcrumbs, and grated parmesan, both by eye adjusting based on the consistency of the mixture. Add a good grating of nutmeg and lemon zest.
If the mixture is very soft, increase the amount of breadcrumbs.
To taste – and this is a variation I would make for reasons related to my low-sodium cooking (see note at the end of the recipe) – add a chopped garlic clove and some aromatic herbs, like parsley or thyme, or possibly arugula or fennel fronds.
Take small portions of the mixture and shape them into meatballs with your hands.
Place the meatballs in a pan, without oil, and brown them on both sides.
This method of dry browning the meatballs, thus without frying, is a feature of our household meatballs, my mom has not (and therefore I have never) fried meatballs.
When a light crust forms on the surface, add the tomato puree and a drizzle of oil.
For the puree, adjust to taste depending on how much sauce you want, but 300 or 400 g (10.5-14 oz) can be fine.
Cook with the lid closed until the sauce is cooked (25-30 minutes).
The meatballs do not need long cooking times since they are made with cooked meat, the sauce can eventually be pre-cooked separately before adding it to the meatballs.
During cooking, gently turn the meatballs with a spatula, and check that the sauce does not reduce too much.
Serve hot.Even though boiled meatballs are one of the most popular recycling recipes ever, they were a real novelty for us, a brand-new recipe.
And it was definitely time to try it. π
- For those who don’t know, I cook without salt, all the recipes on this blog are recipes without added salt, and all end with some of my tips to enhance flavor in the absence of salt.
Today’s tip I mentioned in the instructions but I’ll repeat it here, adding a couple of more ideas:
β Add a chopped garlic clove and some aromatic herbs, like parsley or thyme, or possibly arugula, wild fennel, or fennel fronds.
β Add oregano or marjoram to the sauce.
β But also some spices might suit us, for example, a pinch of paprika or curry.
Sure, with spices we would slightly deviate from the taste of my mom’s meatballs, so I’ll note the idea for when I make them myself, who knows maybe for next year’s recycling recipe! π
If you are interested in reducing or eliminating salt, always remember to:
β Decrease salt gradually, the palate must get used to it slowly and should not notice the progressive reduction.
β Use spices. Chili, pepper, curry, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, cumin…
β Use aromatic herbs. Basil, parsley, oregano, thyme, sage, marjoram, rosemary, mint…
β Use seeds. Sesame, pine nuts, almonds, walnuts…
β Use spicy vegetables or fruits. Garlic, onion, lemon, orange…
β Use my salt-free vegetable granules and gomasio.
β Prefer fresh foods.
β Avoid cooking in water, prefer cooking methods that do not disperse flavors (grill, foil, steam, microwave)
β Avoid bringing the salt shaker to the table!
β Occasionally indulge. It is good for the mood and helps to persevere.
If you don’t want, or can’t, give up salt:
β You can still try my recipes salting according to your habits. Β π Carla: Torta with salmon, zucchini, and robiola
Daniela: Panettone crumble
Elena: Egg gnocchi in broth
Franca: Orange ravioli
Milena: Cereal rolls with mixed seeds
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