Freshly baked bread, still warm and so fragrant, is undoubtedly one of the best things in the world. But what happens when, after a few days, it loses its initial aroma? It certainly shouldn’t be thrown away!!
Stale bread in the kitchen is a great resource: you can prepare tasty bruschette, flavored crostini to make soups and stews even more appetizing and, with just the crust, make breadcrumbs for crunchy coatings. However, the most common use in the kitchen is linked to preparing meatballs or various vegetable balls, like eggplant meatballs or, more simply, the delicious bread meatballs.
Small spheres of stale bread crumb, flavored with garlic and parsley and enriched with egg and grated cheese, which you can fry and serve as finger food during an aperitif or as a main course accompanied by a fresh salad.
Would you like to prepare them with me?
So…let’s COOK and EAT!
See also
- Cost: Very inexpensive
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Cooking methods: Frying
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 11 oz stale bread (about 3 cups torn bread)
- 2/3 cup milk (about 5 fl oz (150 ml))
- 1 egg
- 2 tbsp grated Parmesan (or pecorino)
- to taste chopped parsley
- 1 pinch salt
- to taste pepper
- to taste breadcrumbs (if needed)
- to taste vegetable oil (for frying)
Tools
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Strainer
- 1 Pan
Steps
To prepare the bread meatballs, first remove the crust from the stale bread, cut the crumb into small pieces, put it in a bowl and cover it with the milk. Let it rest for 5 minutes, stirring from time to time and crushing the crumb with a fork.
At this point, pour the contents of the bowl into a strainer and let any excess milk drain, then squeeze the crumb with your hands.
Put the squeezed crumb back into the bowl and add the egg, the crushed garlic, the chopped parsley, the grated cheese, and finally salt and pepper.
If the mixture is too soft, add a little breadcrumbs and form your bread meatballs of about 1 oz each.
Fry them submerged in vegetable oil at a temperature of 338–356 °F until evenly golden, turning them in the oil with the help of a slotted spoon.
When they are ready, place them on a tray lined with absorbent paper to remove excess oil, then all that remains is to serve them hot accompanied by the sauces you like best 😋.
