Italian meatballs in tomato sauce

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 500 g minced meat (pork, beef, veal)
• 100 g bacon (pork belly bacon), e.g. pancetta or coppa (from the neck), streaky
• 3 small onions
• 1 clove(s) garlic
• 1 bunch parsley, flat
• 1 egg(s)
• 50 g breadcrumbs, freshly grated
• 25 g Parmesan, freshly grated
• salt and pepper
• 350 g tomatoes (Roma tomatoes), small
• 30 g tomatoes, dried, pickled in oil
• 2 m.-sized onion(s)
• 2 cloves garlic
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp basil, fresh, coarsely chopped
• 3 tbsp tomato paste
• oregano
• marjoram
• Cayenne pepper
• Lemon(s) peel
• some sugar
• possibly red wine if required

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour; Total time approx. 1 hour

Polpette alla Casalinga in sugo di pomodori

The mixture for the polpette (meatballs) is best made in a food processor. If you don’t have one, make sure all the ingredients for the meatballs are very finely chopped. This means having the butcher process the minced meat and ham at least twice. Otherwise, put all the ingredients (minced meat, ham, onions, garlic, parsley, egg, breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, herbs, and spices) in the food processor and process for about 5 minutes. Form this mixture into small balls. It’s best to moisten your hands with warm water to prevent the dough from sticking. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and let the dumplings sit in the hot water for 5 minutes. Only then remove them from the pan and fry them in a pan with heated olive oil until crispy and brown. Blanch the tomatoes and peel off the skins. Chop them finely and set aside. Heat olive oil in another pan and add the finely chopped onions and garlic. After 2 minutes, add the sun-dried tomatoes and sauté with the tomato paste. Then add the peeled tomatoes (and a little red wine, if desired). Season everything with salt, pepper, sugar, and oregano and simmer, almost completely covered, for at least 45 minutes. When the sauce is cooked, pour it into a tall container and puree with a hand blender. Finally, add the roughly chopped basil. Mix the tomato sauce with the meatballs. Serve with pasta cooked al dente and Parmesan cheese, as well as ciabatta and a good Chianti.