In Italy, polpette/meatballs are a normal dish in their own right, we would call it a secondo piatto/second course (as explained in the blog on the different courses of an Italian meal), served with or without tomato sauce, made with breadcrumbs, bread or potatoes, cooked in a little oil, fried or baked. We proposed one of the many recipes in a previous blog.
History of polpette
Polpette/ meatballs have an ancient tradition that dates back to 1500, redefined over the centuries with many variations also as an elegant dish, often filled with spices, raisins, pine nuts, fennel seeds, less used today.
Current polpette/meatballs made their entrance in the 1900s; these became a simple dish typical of home cooking, made by women who dedicate their time to preparing lunch and dinner.
Meatballs are food to be consumed at every event and in every eventuality, prepared by purchasing the ingredients or to recycle any leftovers.
Polpettoni /meatloafs also originate from them, in Italian the name clearly indicates a large meatball, which nowadays have a life of their own, stuffed with eggs, salami or vegetables.
Polpette and polpettoni are part of Italian life so much that the two words are used in other meanings: for instance,Polpetta is to indicate that a person or animal inspires tenderness and polpettone for a film or a book heavy to watch or to read.
In the 80s polpette and polpettoni had disappeared a bit but nowadays they have reappeared in many variations, even totally vegetarian and served in a very elegant way.
Spaghetti with meatballs in Italy and Abroad
On the other hand, we are often accustomed to looking with horror at a plate of spaghetti with meatballs, immediately associating it with American films, with what people abroad think of us Italians and what we eat. Spaghetti with meatballs competes with “pizza, pasta and mandolin”. But spaghetti with meatballs, the Italian-American version of spaghetti with meatballs, is actually an integral part of the Italian regional gastronomic tradition that we have exported abroad with the various waves of migration. More precisely, pasta with meatballs is a dish present in various popular cuisines of Italy in which meatballs are used, generally medium-small in size, which are used to season pasta with sauce or baked, but also in broth.
The point is that in Italy we normally serve a first course and a second course (blog) and therefore it is normal that -eating at home-part of the meatball sauce is used as a sauce for the first course and the meatballs as a second course.
Often, pasta is not even served and only the meatballs are served in white or red sauce (with tomato sauce), fried, sautéed or baked. And then a side dish, potatoes are certainly perfect but also a good salad (blog)
Spaghetti with American-style meatballs are the result of the migrations of the early twentieth century: here, however, the meatballs decrease in number and become larger. The National Association of American Pasta Manufacturers published the recipe in the 1920s, but it was with the Disney cartoon and the most romantic kiss in the world that this pasta dish with meatballs reached the peak of its success.
Pasta and Meatballs in Italy
Spaghetti with meatballs: origin
We have already said that the origin of spaghetti with meatballs is certainly to be found in the recipe books of regional Italian cuisine. The popular cuisine of southern Italy is full of recipes that recall spaghetti with meatballs. For instance Abruzzo, Puglia, Sicily have home recipes that combine fresh pasta with meatballs, of various sizes and different types of dough.
Pasta with meatballs in the Italian regional tradition
The recipe for spaghetti with meatballs is however typical of different Italian regions that have their own traditions and their way of making it handed down from generation to generation. Because pasta with meatballs is a family dish, one of those things that grandma used to prepare, a dish to recycle leftovers that does not make the main course look bad at all. So all pasta with meatball recipes are different.
Let’s see what they are region by region:
• in Campania it is called pasta imbottita/stuffed pasta: short pasta, fried meatballs, smoked provola cheese and ragù. All baked in the oven, crunchy and tasty.
• pasta seduta/sitting pasta in Puglia: ziti, meat sauce, fried meatballs blanched in ragù and Parmigiano Reggiano. Before serving it, cook it for 5 minutes in a bain-marie/double boiler
• pasta with meatballs Calabrian style: pecorino silano, veal, eggs, parsley, soaked bread for medium-sized meatballs that cook directly in the sauce to be used as a condiment for fresh pasta.
• the typical paddunedda pasta from Modica (Sicily), served with broth and meatballs
• spaghetti alla chitarra with meatballs in Abruzzo , with a sauce of meatballs made the size of an olive.
And the one in the photo here is a chitarra/guitar to prepare the special spaghetti alla chitarra
How can we realise a simple pasta with meatballs?
Form the meatballs with the recipe you know, we propose one in our blog
Form them small, the size of an olive. Put a pan on the heat and add extra virgin olive oil. Cook the meatballs for about 5 minutes, taking care to turn them.
Put half of the cooked meatballs in the tomato sauce and boil the spaghetti or pasta.
Drain the pasta and put it directly in the sauce with the meatballs.
Plate the seasoned pasta, add the meatballs that you have kept aside and finish with the grated parmigiano or pecorino.
Do you have your family recipe for pasta with meatballs?
Toscana Mia Blog 
The classic ITALIAN meatball is mot only a meal, it is an art. It kills me sometimes to see what some call a meatball.
Years ago, nonna would mix beef and pork, as beef was more expensive, and sometimes veal.
I prefer my meatballs fried, without going into the gravy. I like that crispy outside and the soft inside.
Mangia figlio. Mangia polpette. E’ buon, e’.
This, as always, was a great article my friend. I wrote a similar one a while back. If I can find I’ll send it to you.
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Okay. I submitted this one back in 2020 I think. If you can, look it up. A couple of cute pictures went with it. Adesso…Mangia figlio!!
THE CLASSIC MEATBALL
Posted byJC homeMarch 9, 2020Posted inUncategorized
Throughout my entire life I have been a fan of good comedy, especially old time comedies. Laurel and Hardy, Hope and Crosby, Martin and Lewis on and on and on. But there is one particular scene I remember from the old Abbott and Costello tv show when Bud Abbott is trying to explain to Mr Baciagalupo why he could never get Lou to eat a meatball. Meanwhile Costello is just screaming “MEEATBALL!!! MEEEEATBALLL!!! Well, sorry fellas, but I love a good meatball, and my wife’s meatballs are second to none. But first a little background.
Lou Costello and Mr Baciagalupo
A meatball is just what it says it is, a ball of meat. Sure there are some ingredients. Of course a Swedish meatball is different from an Italian meatball, but basically they are cousins in that they are a ball of meat. An Italian meatball though has ingredients like garlic, salt and the like and it is known the world over as the standard by which all other meatballs are judged.
Originally a good meatball was made of beef and pork and sometimes a little veal. Beef is the main ingredient, but because most Italians of long ago were poor, pork was added to stretch the beef, which was always more expensive. The veal was added on holidays and just gave it the feel of something special. Over the years though, pork was mostly eliminated, and the meatball morphed into beef. So, here is the recipe for, not the meatball. Not just any meatball. But my wife’s meatballs which really are the best ever. (No, she is not standing behind me)
1 lb ground beef (chuck is best) ¾ beef and ¼ pork is optional
Minced garlic (garlic powder is a good substitute)
8 slices sliced white bread, crusts removed
Grated parmesan cheese
Pepper, but just a touch
Bread crumbs
2 large eggs
Combine all the ingredients into a large bowl except for the bread and bread crumbs. Wet the bread with cold water and squeeze all the water out like you would a sponge. Add that to the mix and, using your hands mix everything together until it is blended and the pieces of bread disappear. Now, this mixture will be kind of loose, so add the breadcrumbs, maybe ¼ cup and mix again. Keep adding more bread crumbs until the mixture dries a little and doesn’t stick to your hands. You may need a cup more or less. When you are satisfied with the mixture, it’s probably done. Put it aside for a while.
In a large frying pan, heat some olive oil about ¼ inch. Get it nice and hot. Take a small amount of the meatball mix and roll it into a ball. Make each ball the size you would eat, not too big, not too small. Drop it into the oil and let it brown on all sides. Your meatball is now fit for any discretionary human’s consumption.
See, one of the secrets of a good meatball is the ingredients. But the other is in the frying. Take the time to do that and you will see that it is well worth the effort. Some people bake their meatballs which is OK and some just drop them into their gravy. The former method is OK I guess while the latter is totally unacceptable. A slow cooker meatball will send you directly to hell! A good meatball is crisp on the outside but soft on the inside. Crispy enough to crack when you bite into it while the inside just kind of fills your cheeks with flavor. I do prefer mine out of the gravy but I’ll never turn away one that is soaked in a good Sunday gravy.
Now, I do have to say that I know quite a few people who don’t fry their meatballs and let me be clear on this point. If you take this hunk of seasoned meat and just drop it into your gravy pot you are doing both a disservice. Take the extra time and fry the meatballs. You will see it is worth the trouble. Also, spaghetti and meatballs is a classic dish, good any night of the week, but a meatball, a GOOD meatball can stand alone and be a staple, a main dish on its own. So be proud and serve your meatballs with distinction.
I guess down deep inside I know there is no meatball on the planet that Lou Costello would eat. He would swear to that and so would Mr Baciagalupo. But if you follow this recipe, and I know but it really is a little of this and a little of that, you will love your meatball. Your family will ask for seconds. And it will make you wonder, what was Lou Costello thinking about?! He’ll never know what he missed.
Anne Marie, please pass the meatballs honey.
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Bellissimo !!!Your article gives so much the idea of the feeling we have with simple but good meatballs.Your way of writing is great and I would sincerely love to do the same.Where are your other articles?
The recipe you write about is familiar to me, even if most of the time people soak the bread in milk.And you know what?I’m totally with you in favour of fried meatballs not in a sauce.
Thank you again for following us
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lifesvoyagercom.wordpress.com
I don’t write there anymore. But You can find me occasionally on Spillwords.com
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Thank you.I’ll do it
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