Modena-Style Meatballs

For dinner tonight, I decided to make an authentic Italian meatball recipe. There are many, many variations of meatball recipes in Italy. They are different from Italian-American meatballs, and are typically not served with spaghetti or other pasta. Instead, they are either served as a main course or in soup.

I looked for a recipe that sounded relatively easy to make and that sounded good. I found one that claims to be in the style of Modena, Italy. Modena is a city in the Po Valley in the region of Emilia-Romagna in northern Italy. Inter alia, Modena is famous for its balsamic vinegar.

I found the recipe on a unique web site: http://www.inmamaskitchen.com/. It has one page that is devoted entirely to meatball recipes from around the world: http://www.inmamaskitchen.com/. There are links to nearly 60 meatball recipes on that page - from Mexico, Finland, Lebanon, Afghanistan, China, etc., etc., etc.

This recipe serves 4-6 people. They can be served with or without tomato sauce. I tried both ways, and preferred it without.

I liked the results and I found it fairly easy to do. One of the main ingredients is mashed potato, so it will taste very different from Italian-American meatballs.

I have added a few comments to the recipe based on my experience with it.

Ingredients
1. Ingredients for making the meatballs

- 2 cups finely chopped leftover cooked meats (chicken, pork, beef). I did not have leftover meat. I bought a mixture of ground beef and pork. The two cups equated to about a pound.

- 1/2 cup Italian breadcrumbs

- 2 small eggs (I used two large eggs because I did not have small ones)

- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

- 1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg

- 1 medium potato, boiled and mashed

- 1/2 teaspoon beef bouillon

 

2. Ingredients for coating the meatballs

- 1/2 cup Italian breadcrumbs (I recommend 2/3 cup)

- 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese (I recommend 1/2 cup)

(I recommend the larger amounts because I ran out of coating when I used the original amounts.)

 

3. Ingredients for coating the pan

1 tablespoon butter

1/3 cup olive oil

Directions
1. I'm adding directions for mashing the potato: peel the potato and cut it into quarters lengthwise. Put it in a sauce pan and cover with water. Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 15-20 minutes - until tender, and you can easily put a fork into it. Put the potato into a bowl and mash it.
2. Combine meat, breadcrumbs, cheese, eggs, nutmeg, and bouillon in the bowl with the potato. Mix well by hand. Make small meatballs by rolling in the palm of your hand. (I recommend that they be 1.5 inches in diameter or smaller.)
3. On a plate, blend together the breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese for coating the meatballs. Roll the meatballs in this mixture.
4. In a large frying pan, heat the butter and olive oil. When hot, add the meatballs and brown on all sides.
5. Add you favorite marina sauce, if you want sauce.

According to the recipe, these meatballs freeze well.