Ingredients: |
Ingredients: The Braising Sauce
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
2 celery stalk with leaves, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 bay leaf
4 cups tomato juice (I used more of a tomato puree)
4 cups chicken stock
The Meatballs
1 cup fresh bread crumbs made from day-old rustic white bread
1/2 cup buttermilk (or whole milk)
3/4 cup whole-milk ricotta cheese
1/4 cup freshly grated parmigiano reggiano
1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon coarse salt
Fresh ground black pepper to taste
1 1/2 lbs ground veal
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Directions: |
Directions:For the braising sauce: Heat the butter in a large, deep skillet over medium heat. When the butter is melted, add the onion, celery, and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and barely translucent but not at all browned, about 10 minutes. Season lightly with salt and pepper, keeping in mind that canned tomato juice can be salty. Add the bay leaf, tomato juice, and stock. Bring to a simmer, stirring once or twice, and simmer for 15-20 minutes to meld and concentrate the flavors. Taste for salt and pepper.
While the sauce is simmering, make the meatballs: Combine the bread crumbs and buttermilk in a small bowl. Stir the bread crumbs around with a small spoon or your hands to moisten them. Let sit 5-10 minutes.
In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, Parmigiano, parsley, egg, salt and pepper. Add the soaked bread crumbs and buttermilk and stir everything with a wooden spoon or your hands until well mixed. Break off hunks of the ground veal and drop them into the bowl. Then gently knead the meat to work in all the other ingredients. The goal is to blend everything evenly without overworking the meat – if you overmix it, the meatballs can become tough and heavy.
Shaping the meatballs: Using a 1/3 cup measure, scoop out a heaping portion of the veal mixture for each meatball and shape it into a round ball. Again, take care not to squeeze or overmanipulate the mixture. Arrange the balls on a large platter or tray without touching one another.
The braise: When the sauce is ready, reduce heat to medium-low and one by one, lower the meatballs into the skillet using a wooden spoon. Once all the meatballs are in the pan, spoon a little sauce over the top of each one and cover the pan. Adjust the burner so that the sauce stays at a low simmer and bubbles lazily rising to the surface. If it simmers too fast, the meatballs will toughen and the full exchange of flavor between sauce and meat won’t occur.
After 20 minutes, carefully turn the meatballs with a a large spoon. They’re fragile, so work slowly. Spoon sauce over the tops again, cover, and continue to simmer until the meatballs feel firm to the touch, indicating they are cooked all the way through, 35-45 minutes.
Serving: Let the meatballs sit in the sauce for about 5 minutes off the heat. To serve, place 2 meatballs on each plate and spoon some sauce over the top. You can serve with bread to mop up the sauce. |
This recipe for Polpettone (Giant Meatballs) Braised in Tomato Sauce is from