Italiano
Neapolitan meatballs
A traditional recipe (in dialect “purpette ca sarza”) that has a light sweet and sour flavor thanks to the presence of pine nuts and raisins. We pair it with a Barbera d’Asti from Poderi dei Bricchi Astigiani because of its fruity flavor and easy drinkability.
Ingredients for 4 people:
600g ground meat with equal amounts of beef and pork, 200g stale home-made bread crumb, 2 whole eggs, 3 tablespoons grated Parmigiano Reggiano, 30g pine nuts, 30g raisins, 1 garlic clove, 1 tablespoon chopped parsley, salt and pepper as desired.
For the sauce: half a white onion, 1 garlic clove, 2 cans of peeled San Marzano tomatoes, 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil and basil leaves.
Directions:
Soak the stale bread crumb until it becomes soft.
Mix the ground meat in a bowl together with the garlic, parsley, eggs, salt, pepper and the crumb that has been squeezed dry. Add the Parmigiano and mash everything together until it becomes homogenous.
Make 8-12 meatballs from the mixture (or more if you prefer them smaller) and in each add a small amount of pine nuts and raisins.
Seal the meatballs and fry them in hot oil until they are golden-brown.
Brown the garlic in oil then add the onion, peeled tomatoes, a pinch of salt and the basil and let simmer.
Add the meatballs to the sauce after it has cooked for around 10 minutes and continue cooking at a low heat for another 30 minutes.
Serve the Neapolitan meatballs hot, or lukewarm in the summer, with a few fresh basil leaves.
A little secret for ensuring the meatballs remain intact: add some dried bread crumbs to the meat mixture to absorb any residual liquid from the softened crumb. Also, let the meat mixture sit for 15 minutes in the refrigerator before making the meatballs.
Wine to pair:
Barbera d'Asti Docg Poderi dei Bricchi Astigiani
Barbera is the most widely planted grape variety in Asti area, in Piedmont. Original and versatile, it can produce – with careful fermentation and aging – both fresh and fragrant young wines or rich, full-bodied, and long-lived offerings. This Barbera belongs to the first kind of wines. Violet ruby red color. Intense and enveloping aromas of violets and black cherry. Tense, savory taste, very pleasant and easy to drink.
Production area: hills around Repergo village, Isola d'Asti.
Grape variety: Barbera 100%.
Winemaking system: ageing in stainless steel only for 6 months, refining some more months in bottle. To be drunk young, best within 3 years after its harvest to best enjoy the freshness of its aromas.
Serving temperature:16-18°C.
Suggested food pairing: for its versatility it can be drunk throughout the entire meal.
