Dara Klein's

Name: Dara Klein's
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 40 min
Yield: 4-6
Ingredients: onion 1; garlic clove 1; extra virgin olive oil 3 tbsp; fresh bay leaf 1; passata 750 ml; honey 1/2 tbsp; Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste; beef mince 300 g; pork mince 300 g; fine breadcrumbs 70 g; whole milk 100 ml; pecorino 70 g; garlic clove 1; nutmeg 1/2 tsp; Zest of 1/2 small lemon; parsley 20 g; egg 1; salt 1 tsp; black pepper 1 tsp; crusty bread 4; smoked scamorza a few slices per sandwich; more parmesan a few grates per sandwich

My family's rosticceria in Wellington had a large production kitchen at the back of the shop. Usually it was a constant flurry of activity and noise, but a tray of polpette emerging from the oven would stop us in our tracks. A heavenly scent would fill the room, the tender pork and beef spiced with nutmeg, melting together with pecorino and a rich tomato sauce. Carried through to a bain-marie at the front of the shop, right by the window, they'd disappear quickly, often selling out before all the other dishes.

20 minutes prep

40 minutes cook

Serves 4-6

Hugh Woodward

Ingredients

For the sauce:

1 onion

1 garlic clove

3 tbspextra virgin olive oil

1 fresh bay leaf

750 mlpassata

1/2 tbsphoney

to taste Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

For the meatballs:

300 gbeef mince

300 gpork mince

70 gfine breadcrumbs

100 mlwhole milk

70 gpecorino

1 garlic clove

1/2 tspnutmeg

Zest of 1/2 small lemon

20 gparsley

1 egg

1 tspsalt

1 tspblack pepper

For the sandwiches:

4 crusty bread

a few slices per sandwich smoked scamorza

a few grates per sandwich more parmesan

Italian-American cooking popularised the spread of spaghetti and meatballs around the world but traditionally polpette are served alone in their sauce accompanied only by bread. When the trattoria opened, mum stuck to tradition and put polpette on the menu Without spaghetti. The local Wellingtonian's would always ask where the pasta was but she stuck to her guns. When the polpette are this good, you need to let them shine,' she would tell them, offering them one to sample.

I put polpette on the opening menu at Tiella, and for our opening party, we passed them around on toothpicks. Since the Compton Arms is an Arsenal pub, I also stuffed them in a bun with smoked scamorza cheese and Parmigiano for match days. After all, it's important to give my New Jersey heritage a nod sometimes, too.

Mum always insisted on using her hands to combine the meatball mixture as the warmth of your palms allows the fat to melt and the flavours to marry together. You can adapt this recipe to your taste, adding more lemon zest, nutmeg, garlic, or even some chilli flakes if you like your polpette a little spicy. Serve with freshly grilled bread.

Method

Remove the mince from the fridge and allow to come to room temperature.

For the sauce, finely dice the onion and thinly slice the garlic. Set a wide pan over a medium-high heat and add the olive oil, onion, garlic, bay leaf and a couple of four-finger pinches of salt. Cook for 10 minutes, or until the onions soften. Add the passata and season with 5 grinds of pepper and a five-finger pinch of salt. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

While the sauce is simmering, prep the meatball ingredients. Soak the breadcrumbs in the milk. Finely grate the pecorino, garlic and nutmeg. Zest the lemon. Finely chop the parsley leaves.

Remove the sauce from the heat and taste for seasoning and sweetness. The meatballs will add to the level of seasoning, so go easy on the salt and pepper. If the passata is particularly acidic, stir in the honey or sugar.

Place all the meatball ingredients in a large bowl and mix thoroughly with clean hands. Work the mixture until it begins to resemble a thick, smooth paste.

Preheat the oven to 175°C fan. Before shaping the meatballs, set up a tray, scales and a bowl of water.

Weigh 40g of the mixture and roll each meatball until the surface becomes smooth and even. Place on the tray and repeat, dipping your hands in the water every now and then to keep them moist and help stop the meat sticking to them as you roll. 10 In a 20 x 30cm oven dish, spread the tomato sauce on the bottom and arrange the meatballs on top with roughly 5mm of space between them. If the dish is too large, the sauce might dry out too much. Cover with a layer of foil and bake in the oven for 30 minutes, turning once halfway through.

Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Garnish with grated pecorino or Parmigiano and a drizzle of olive oil. Served with freshly grilled bread. This dish is also great with the roast potatoes on page 234 and the simple salad on page 239.

The polpette can be stored, covered, in the fridge for up to 3 days. To reheat, add the meatballs and sauce to a lidded saucepan and add a splash of water. Cover with the lid and warm through. Test the polpette are warm enough by inserting a metal skewer into the middle and then pressing it to your bottom lip.