Boiled-beef fried meatballs

A home recipe which we pair with a Rosso Veronese Calinverno 2016 Cottini Monte Zovo

Ingredients for 4-5 people:

Around 400g boiled beef, 500g floury potatoes, 2 eggs, 50g grated Parmigiano Reggiano, 1 garlic clove, parsley, a little grated lemon peel, 200g bread crumbs, salt and pepper and olive or peanut oil for frying.

Directions:

Wash the potatoes, place them in cold water and boil with their skins.

Trim the meat of excess fat and cartilage and grind it in a meat grinder or blender (in this case not too finely).

Remove the interior germ from the garlic clove and dice the clove finely together with some parsley.

Once the potatoes are cooked, peel and mash them with a ricer and let them fall into a bowl.

Add to the bowl the ground meat, cheese, grated lemon peel, diced garlic and parsley, eggs and some salt and pepper. Knead together with your hands until it is smooth and uniform.

Use your hands to make small, sausage-shaped meatballs and roll them in bread crumbs until they are uniformly covered.

Once all the meatballs are all ready, fry five or six at a time in abundant, hot oil (170°C) for five to six minutes, until they are golden-brown.

Place the fried meatballs on paper towels to absorb the excess oil and serve with a sprinkling of salt.

While these are to be consumed hot or warm, they are also excellent cold.

Wine to pair:

(edited by Stefania Vinciguerra)

Calinverno Rosso Veronese 2016 Cottini Monte Zovo

Very intense and concentrated ruby red color. Enveloping and ethereal aromas of maraschino, wild cherry jam, vanilla and hints of cocoa. Rich and tense taste, warm yet not heavy, great balance between tannins and acidity. Very long persistence in the finish.

Production Area: The vineyards are located in Caprino Veronese (VR), on the hill north of the winery at an altitude between 250-300 metres a.s.l. East-West sun exposure. Soil of morainic nature with a gravelly skeleton. 

Grape varieties: blend of corvina and corvinone 70%, rondinella 20%, croatina 5%, cabernet sauvignon 5%, from vineyards between 12 and 25 years old. Mixed training system Guyot and pergola. Planting density of 6,500 vines/ha for the Guyot and 3,300 vines/ha for the pergola. Yield per hectare 8 tons. The entire estate is cultivated by organic viticulture. It is also certified for its respect of biodiversity according to “biodiversity friend” criteria. 

Harvest: Coming from late harvest, grapes are over-ripened when they are handpicked. Depending on the vintage, the bunches are left on the vines 2 to 4 weeks longer than normal maturation. The harvest does not start before the end of October. 

Drying: After a careful selection, the bunches are laid, one layer high, on plastic boxes and then moved to the drying facility where they remain there between 20 and 30 days. During this period, the average reduction of the water content is between 20% and 25%. 

Vinification: At the end of the drying period, the grapes are destemmed and pressed. The fermentation lasts between 25 and 30 days. After the racking of the must, the wine ages for 24 months in barriques and tonneaux. Then, the wine refines in the bottle for 12 months before commercial release. 

Serving temperature: 16-18°C 

Alcoholic content: 15% vol. 

Suggested food pairings: it goes well with important meat dishes. With barbecue, for its spicy outfit, with pork, ribs, grilled glazed ham. Excellent affinity with mature cheeses.

THIS RECIPE IS OFFERED BY MONTE ZOVO

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