No way, there are very few dishes like meatballs … that can please everyone, absolutely everyone, young and old.
And how could it be otherwise? Here in Italy meatballs are with you from an early age. My grandmother, for example, knew how preparing them in many different ways, depending on the age and also the state of health.
- steamed meatballs seasoned with fresh smoothie tomato; when I was just over one year
- baked meatballs to stay light without sacrificing any flavor that distinguishes them
- fried meatballs … “party” atmosphere … ideal for a lunch/dinner between friends
- meatballs in sauce, cooked in a pan along with their sauce
In short, so many variations, not to mention the various ingredients contributing to what (for us) is the perfect meatball: bread, potatoes, bread crumbs, milk …
And then there is the size, that can vary according to their use:
- very small for baked pasta with meatballs (south of Italy style)
- medium for a main course, and to fry them
- large, almost like small hamburgers, if we want to take them with us to a picnic, to the beach, for a trip …
And ‘so we like to eat the meatballs … you’ll ever see them on spaghetti, unless some restaurant should bend to this not Italian trend. I’m very wondered about how many spaghetti meatballs recipes you can find on google Italian pages too…crazy.
A few days ago I gave a lecture at a high school in Pisa. Together with a colleague, we talked about “Slow Food”, a no-profit organization, approved by the FAO, which deals with safeguarding food as “Good, Clean and Fair”.
- Good when it is tasty, but genuine
- Clean when it is not “contaminated” by chemicals, and the environment has not been “polluted” to make it
- Fair when it is ethical, and no person has been exploited to get that food
Well, in this climate of “Fast Foods”, “all you can eat” formulas, and even “eat and spend € 1 per minute,” we tried to explain the importance of time and love when you ‘re preparing a dish.
Time was the care of our grandmothers and today is that one of us mom, Love is all our life in those few actions to feed those we love.
With boys and girls from high school we talked about food as a moment of aggregation and conviviality, healthy food, but tasty; the importance of eating seasonal food, the flavors that can not always be the same, every day of the year, all year round.
Meatballs represent very well all that: their versatility means that we do not ever get tired, and their flavor changes with the seasons, just like the ingredients that we put inside this dish.
Today I prepared these kinds of meatballs:
– Steamed in tomato sauce (recipe for tomato sauce is here)
– Baked
With this recipe below, you can choose the meatballs form of cooking you prefer, all going well.
You should definitely try them and if you have to give me suggestions or just want to let me know how they come up, do not hesitate to do it … I’m here for you
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