A good dish of fresh pasta like these troccoli with sauce and meatballs is inviting and always turns out well. It is also a complete and nutritious meal.
There are several ways in Apulia to cook this typical pasta with vegetables and legumes, but with sauce and cacio ricotta cheese that I have here replaced with Grana, I think it is the best you can desire.
Nevertheless, my variation because I was missing it still satisfies me.
If I manage to find cacio ricotta, I’ll make them again.
- Difficulty: Medium
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 4 people
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 14 oz Troccoli
- 7 oz Beef (ground)
- Eggs (1)
- as needed Grana Padano DOP (grated)
- 2 tbsp Breadcrumbs
- 1 clove Garlic
- Onions (1)
- as needed Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- as needed Salt
- as needed Parsley
- 2 cups Tomato Passata
Tools
- Skillet
- Pot
- Bowl
First, sauté oil and onion in a little extra virgin olive oil in a pot and add the tomato passata, salt, and parsley.
In a bowl, beat the egg and add the ground meat, some Grana cheese, breadcrumbs, finely chopped garlic, parsley, and a little salt.
Mix and form round meatballs from the obtained mixture.
The sauce needs to cook for at least thirty minutes.
Meanwhile, boil the troccoli until al dente in a pot of abundant salted water for six to seven minutes from boiling.
Drain and dress with the flavorful sauce and grated Grana. Eat the good meatballs as a second course.
The feeling of satiety after eating this complete first course will last for a while :).
Troccoli with Sauce and Meatballs Recipe from Apulian Tradition
The original recipe for troccoli with sauce and meatballs, therefore, involves the use of cacio ricotta cheese, widely used by us. Please forgive my substitution with Grana cheese, as it is not always easy to find.
Finally, homemade troccoli with re-milled flour and semolina are definitely preferable to those bought in supermarkets already packaged.
Note well: The ‘troccolo’ used to make the pasta is a wooden or brass rolling pin with teeth that, pressed on the thin stretched dough, forms the characteristic pasta similar to thick spaghetti.
Come and have a peek also on Pinterest at my board THE COOK WHO RECOVERS
Come and have a peek also on Pinterest at my board THE COOK WHO RECOVERS
