People have enjoyed agrodolce meatballs for millennia, literally! The inspiration for this recipe comes from “De Re Coquinaria,” perhaps the oldest cookbook on Roman cuisine. It was compiled as early as the 5th century. The meatballs themselves are flavored with Colatura di Alici, the modern descendant of the beloved ancient Roman condiment, garum. Then, they’re tossed in an agrodolce sauce made with equal parts Saba and white wine. Saba was the sweetener of choice in Ancient Rome, way before sugar came around. We’ve also added real Italian pine nuts to the mix, just like the original recipe suggests. Of course, we fry the meatballs in extra virgin olive oil for the most authentic (and healthy), flavor.
We first heard of this recipe from Fabrizia Lanza, who runs the iconic cooking school and cultural center Anna Tasca Lanza in Sicily. Grazie mille for bringing these historic, delicious polpettine to light! We like to serve them with toothpicks at a party, or alongside mashed potatoes and sautéed spinach for a more complete meal.
Ingredients
TIME: 1 hour
YIELD: about 80 meatballs
- Bread, 4 slices, crusts removed
- Whole Milk, about 250ml / 1 cup
- Minced pork, 500g / 1.1lbs
- Minced veal, 500g / 1.1lbs
- Red onion, 1 medium, minced
- Pine nuts, 35g / ¼ cup
- Vacche Rosse Cheese, 10g / ¼ cup, finely grated
- Egg, 1 or 2
- Colatura, 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp
- Fresh parsley, a small bunch, finely chopped
- Fresh mint, a small bunch, finely chopped
- Black pepper, freshly ground, to taste
- Fine sea salt, to taste
- Extra virgin olive oil, for frying
- Saba, 180ml / ¾ cup
- White wine, 180ml / ¾ cup
Preparation
- First, put the bread slices in a shallow dish and pour the whole milk over the top. Set aside to soak.
- In a large bowl, combine the minced pork and veal, red onion, pine nuts, grated Vacche Rosse cheese, 1 egg, the Colatura, and the herbs. Season with fine sea salt and black pepper, but go lenient with salt bearing in mind the Colatura is already salty.
- Squeeze the excess milk from the bread and add it to the meat mixture, combining all the ingredients with your hands. If the mixture seems dry, add the second egg.
- Form the meatballs, using a heaping tablespoon of the mixture for each one. You should have about 80 meatballs.
- Meanwhile, heat 4 in/ 10cm or so of extra virgin olive oil in a heavy pan until it reaches 325°F/160°C. Fry the meatballs in batches until cooked through (about 5 minutes), removing to a wire rack to drain.
- Just before you’re ready to serve, heat the saba and white wine in a large pan until the mixture begins to simmer. Add the fried meatballs, stirring to coat in the liquid. Cook for 5 minutes or so until the sauce reduces.
- Cool slightly before serving to allow the sauce to thicken.
