Archive for 2009
What’s Cooking Wednesday: Purpette – Polpette – Meatballs
I have been blogging for over two years and I haven’t posted my grandmother’s meatball recipe? What’s that about?
It could be because we really don’t eat them very often here. As you may or may not have heard, even though it’s probably the most popular menu item in Italian restaurants abroad, Italians in Italy really don’t do the whole “spaghetti and meatballs” thing–and if they do, the meatball is huge and served as a second dish after the pasta. Usually.
I say usually because in my house, I make the meatballs much smaller, like my grandmother taught me, and we (yes, including P) eat them right alongside the pasta–just like I love them. But only if they’re homemade.
When I was in the States, you see, I never, ever ordered meatballs in an Italian restaurant because I knew I wouldn’t like them; fellow diners would get them, I’d try a bite, and nope. Never like my grandmother’s.
If you’ve never made meatballs (polpette in Italian; purpette in Calabrese), trust me–they really *are* worth your time, and they don’t actually take too much effort to make, especially once you’re past the stage of measuring anything, which I’ve been for many years. I used to be the meatball mixer and roller with my grandmother on Saturday nights after church, and some things just stick with you, you know?
I’ll never forget how cold my hands would get while digging into the mixture. My grandmother used to run warm water over them when I’d complain too much, but then I was right back to work.
So below is my grandmother’s recipe for this week’s What’s Cooking Wednesday. Measurements are extremely approximate, but they are the ones she gave me way back when, and now they are yours.
Mangia mangia!
Meatballs – Polpette – Purpette
- 1/2 lb ground veal
- 1/2 lb ground pork
- 1/4 cup breadcrumbs
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon parsley
- 2 teaspoons onion powder or 1 onion very finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder or 1 large clove of garlic very finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons grated Pecorino Romano cheese
- 1 teaspoon salt
- olive oil (for frying)
1. Put all the ingredients in a large bowl and combine until the mixture sticks together.
2. Roll into golf-ball sized balls.
3. Fry in hot oil, turning with a wooden spoon until all sides are browned.
4. Add to sauce of your choice and let simmer for at least fifteen minutes to be sure the meat inside is cooked.
Buon appetito!
How to Make an American Expat in Italy Happy
Nothing like comfort foods from home from the German supermarket in Italy.
Read on...easing into the new year with a 5 things meme
Hello friends! I hope you got to have a nice break over the holidays. I sure did, and it was fabulous. The past two weeks have been spent hanging out with P and the girls, reading, organizing the house, catching up with online friends, and best of all, next to no work.
I had a couple deadlines today so I had to get back to the old grind before the rest of Italy, but that’s OK; I’ll have off again tomorrow for the Epiphany, which I’ve written about at Happy Befana! if you need to refresh your memory on La Befana, the Epiphany witch.
Now to ease us all back into the blog, here’s a quick 5 things meme to get the wheels turning. This comes from Yankee in a New World:
1. What are 5 things you were doing ten years ago?
- Starting my second semester of law school.
- Living in a high-rise apartment on the Ben Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia.
- Finishing up the first holiday season without my grandfather.
- Thinking about summer employment.
- Already dreading how boring and awful Civil Procedure would be (and I was right).
2. What are 5 things on your to do list for today?
- Walk the dogs a few times.
- An Italian grammar lesson.
- Search the freelance writing job boards for anything that looks interesting.
- Spend an hour working on my NaNo novel.
- Do research for a query.
3. What are your 5 favorite snacks?
- Pretzels (and ice cream, especially).
- Chocolate.
- Apples or bananas and peanut butter.
- Yogurt (pineapple and coffee are my two current favorites).
- Cheese.
4. What would you do if you were a millionaire?
- Visit my family much more often and fly them here too.
- Get a huge chunk of land in the Calabrian countryside for P to grow and raise things.
- Pay off student loans.
- Travel more, especially to meet blogging buddies.
- Donate money and time (assuming I wouldn’t have to work as often) to charitable organizations.
5. Where are 5 places you have lived?
- A cute, boxy white house built by my family in rural Pennsylvania.
- A dorm room with a gorgeous bay window in Durham, North Carolina.
- The aforementioned high-rise apartment with enormous windows lining one side in Philadelphia.
- An adorable rowhome with a fabulous inside staircase, loft, and huge brick wall in Philly.
- A 500-year-old three-room stone house in southern Italy.
I won’t tag anyone, but if you’re in the mood for a meme, please feel free to play along in the comments or on your own blog and let me know where to find your answers!
So are you ready for 2009 or what?
Happy New Year from Calabria!
1. Fireworks #1, 2. B, 3. u, 4. O, 5. N, 6. 2, 7. zero, 8. zero, 9. 9, 10. a, 11. N, 12. n, 13. O
P and I spent a nice quiet evening at home with the fireplace going and the pooches snoozing, often on my lap. We had a fabulous dinner (as always) and then watched from the balcony as about 10 different fireworks displays erupted down in the coastal villages at midnight.
‘Twas perfect indeed.
How will/did you celebrate?
See you on Monday!
Michelle Kaminsky is an American attorney-turned-freelance writer who lived in her family's ancestral village in Calabria, Italy for 15 years. This blog is now archived.
Calabria Guidebook
Recipes
