In short. Beef meatballs bound with pecorino, breadcrumbs and egg, fried until golden and then finished in a tomato sauce made in the same pan.
The pecorino is what makes these Apulian rather than generic: it is sharper than parmesan, and there is a lot of it.
Ingredients
- 300 g of minced beef
- 2 tablespoons of grated pecorino
- 3 tablespoons of breadcrumbs
- 3 whole eggs
- 500 g of ripe plum tomatoes
- 1 clove of garlic, minced, and a small onion
- parsley, basil, salt, pepper, extra virgin olive oil
Method
1. The mixture. In a large bowl combine the meat with the cheese, breadcrumbs, eggs, garlic, parsley, salt and pepper. Blend well and form balls of 2–3 cm.
2. Frying. In a frying pan with about a centimetre of olive oil, soften the minced onion and basil, then fry the meatballs until golden brown.
3. The sauce. Add the tomatoes and let everything finish cooking together.
Three eggs for 300 g of meat. That ratio looks wrong to anyone used to a firmer meatball, and it is deliberate: these come out soft, and they are meant to be eaten with bread and a lot of sauce.
More on the second courses page.
