Friday 4 January 2013

My Delicious Meatballs in Tomato Sauce with Pasta ( Pasta alla Salsa di Pomodoro con Deliziose polpette)






 
She had a beautiful Christmas tree, red and white, with millions of fairy lights, which flickered happily in the dark evenings. In the morning, throughout the holidays, she would wake up early, and play beautiful Christmas songs, all the way from America, and Carols, from England, of course. The Viennese Waltz made her dream of dancing in a beautiful palace wearing the pink dress she dreamt of, as a child.
 
Every time, her mind would go back to her childhood years, in Italy. Being the youngest in the family, on Christmas Eve, she had to walk round the house, holding a statuette of Baby Jesus, for everyone to kiss, before she carefully placed it in the crib, between his Mum and Dad, Maria e Giuseppe, and in front of an ox and a donkey.
 
The sounds of Christmas were different, then. Everybody sang "Tu Scendi Dalle Stelle" and she felt so important, carrying the Holy Baby in her little hands, carefully cupped, to make sure " HE" didn't get dropped.





 
When you were born in the Country where every day, though you live in a city, you can smell oranges, resin and seaweed, there is no Bing Crosby or Holly or Ivy, that can take away those scents. It's a kind of addiction and it's what my mind and my heart miss so much: the scent of a happy past!



 



How I wish, every Christmas, that I could go back in time and help my Babbo make a little duck pond for our Nativity. How I wish I could peel those pungent mandarin oranges, and pick resin off the trunk of one of those Mediterranean pines I loved so much.
 
 I believe our mind is like a computer: you push a button and millions of windows open up and carry you back to the past, just when you are happily making mince pies and listening to "White Christmas!"
 
I never had a white Christmas, as a child, but, what I do remember are the smiles, the scents, shopping with my dad, music and laughter.
 
"Smells like Italy, Mummy!" My daughter Gabriella said to me one day, in the holidays! Just like Mamma's house!" (Mamma is my mother, her grandmother.)
 
As much as I try to cook Italian food with a contemporary twist, the kind of food my mamma used to cook, did smell "Like Italy!"
 
It's the kind of food which makes you homesick for the past... that special kind of eternal, universal past, which is hidden right there, inside you. I think you could call it love and, if I have not managed to do really special things in life, I know that I have succeeded in one thing: bringing  my children up to be bilingual, proud of their Italian heritage and... very good cooks!
 
So, here is a recipe from Mamma Rosa's kitchen. It was her birthday on the 17th of last month. I feel joyful when I remember her.
 
My Mum's recipe for Pasta alla  Salsa al Pomodoro con Deliziose Polpette ( Delicious Meatballs in Tomato Sauce With Pasta) is here, ready to be shared with you.
 
 
 
Pasta alla Salsa al Pomodoro con Deliziose  Polpette
 
Ingredients
 
Serves 4
 
For the sauce:
 
5-6 tbs olive oil
1 onion
1 carton passata
salt
black pepper
a handful grated Parmesan
a sprig of fresh basil
 
For the meatballs:
 
 
6tbs olive oil
(if you are frying, rather than baking)
400g minced beef
1 egg
2-3 slices white bread
some fresh parsley
some grated Parmesan cheese
salt
black pepper
 
 
 
Before you start, chop the onion quite finely. Next, heat some olive oil in a medium size saucepan. When the oil is piping hot, add the onion, stir and fry until golden.
 
Carefully add your passata and stir. If you wish your sauce to have more flavour, you can add some cheese and black pepper to it, and some fresh basil.
 
This sauce needs to cook for at least twenty minutes.



 

While your sauce is cooking, make your meatballs. Place your beef in a bowl, make a well in the centre, then add, in the middle, two slices of bread (no crust) broken into small pieces, one egg, some fresh parsley, a generous grating of Parmesan cheese, salt pepper and even a tiny bit of very finely chopped garlic (optional.) Using your hands to mix and combine the ingredients.
 
Using your hands, again, take small pieces of the mixture, to make balls the size of a golf ball, or bigger, if you prefer. This amount should make about 12 medium size meatballs.
 
Your meatballs now need to be fried, or baked, in a fairly hot oven, until golden. When you have done this, you are ready to add them to the tomato sauce and cook for a further 10 minutes.



 


This sauce is delicious with spaghetti or any pasta shape. As you can see from the photos below, I cooked my pasta with some broccoli and cauliflower, as I love vegetables with everything!






In Italy, we would serve pasta with sauce and a generous sprinkling of cheese, first, followed by a "secondo": meatballs with a side dish... I had mine with salad... very nice!








I love the smell of this dish: so Italian, warm, wintery and homely! Very true, it really smells "Like Italy!"

FELICE ANNO NUOVO!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!


36 comments:

  1. Happy New Year Anna...we have missed you. thank you for this recipe. I just bought some very special air dried pasta from our Italian store. The owner claims that it is a rare variety of wheat from ancient times and that it is delicious. I plan to make your sauce. Hope this year is full of beautiful surprises for you. xxx

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  2. Thank you very much! Today I felt I wanted to start posting again! I have missed out on all the fun and all your wonderful posts!

    I hope your wonderful cat boys are doing well. Tell them Anna loves them and stroke them for me!

    You must make my sauce!

    HUGS

    ANNA

    xxx

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  3. My sweet friend
    Happy New Year to you and your family !You posted about a lovely recipe that I make very often ! Just tonight I cooked for dinner this pasta but with a Chinese sauce !!!! My boys asked this ...But when they ate they said to me that the Italian tomato cause (that I use ) is more better that the Chinese .... You must very proud that your children grew up with both of cultures !!Please ,I hope that in 2013 you will be more often near by to us !!
    Olympia

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    Replies
    1. Dear Olympia... pasta with a Chinese sauce sounds... as horrible as moussaka with custard! I think I will pass on that idea!

      You will see a lot of me, this year, as I intend to return to my initial enthusiasm and, as long as life treats me well, I'm happy to carry on with my normal life.

      GOOD NIGHT, OLYMPIA! I think tonoght I might have nightmares about gnocchi "alla" Chinese!

      HAPPY 2013!

      HUGS

      ANNA

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    2. From one side you make me to laugh but to other you make me an " inexperienced " cooker that she tries to cook an easy plate with experimentations !!!! I feel to apologize because my boys always said: mum , again the same plate ??You have no fantasy ! Ok ! please an idea from you !!!And they said : pasta with Chinese sauce .... I couldn't make different....
      Olympia

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    3. Hello Olympia,

      I only made a funny remark, based on the idea that pasta with Chinese sauce really sounds "interesting" to an Italian, such as me. Everyone is free to experiment with fusion food, if they wish to. You are quite right.

      Sorry if I upset you.

      Please accept my sincere apology.

      HAPPY WEEK!

      ANNA


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  4. I'm in love !!
    You have brought Italy alive once again.
    I think I love it the most of anywhere on Earth, and I was born in Texas. The Amalfi Coast is where I could live forever. xx's

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    Replies
    1. What a wonderful comment! Thank you so much... bringing Italy alive with every post is one of the main purposes of my blog.

      Thank you for loving my country with such passion... America is not bad, either... though Italy is the place I love "most anywhere on Earth," too!

      HAPPY WEEKEND and FELICE ANNO NUOVO!

      ANNA

      xx

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  5. Hello Anna and a very Happy New Year to you. It is lovely to see you back blogging. I have missed your joyful comments.
    This dish and the memories associated with Italy and your beautiful mother make it all the more special I also like how you have served it.

    May the year bring much joy, good health and prosperity

    Helenxx

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, dear Helen. I just posted a comment on your blog. Sorry to hear about your lovely friend.

      Memories are important,Helen. They provide a link with the past and hopefully will have an impact on the future.

      FELICE ANNO NUOVO, HELEN!

      xxx ANNA

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  6. What a wonderful post Anna, it's lovely to hear your happy memories of an Italian Christmas!
    Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe - it looks and sounds delicious, and as I have made several of you and your Mother's recipes now I know it will taste wonderful!
    I shall make this one night next week!
    I always love my visits here Anna, I'm so glad you're back!
    I hope you and your family had a wonderful Christmas full of memories in the making, and wishing you all a happy and healthy New Year!
    Gill xx

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    Replies
    1. You are too kind, Gilly! It makes me happy to know that someone reads and enjoys my little stories, as I love writing them and sharing little snippets of my childhood.

      We have just bought a beautiful town house, only 15 minutes away from Bari,Italy, my city. We love it so and are beginning to buy lovely furniture for it, including a beautiful kitchen, which will be used with love.

      Thank you for the wishes... FELICE ANNO NUOVO to you, too! I hope 2013 is a good one for the whole world.

      Try this recipe... you will love it! Homemade polpette (meatballs) are so good and really nothing like the ready made stuff they sell in supermarkets (I actually tasted a bit of one, once: rubber! The real thing is better!)

      HAPPY WEEKEND!

      ANNA
      xxx

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    2. Your new home sounds wonderful Anna- I hope you have fun decorating and furnishing it!

      Am going to make your meatballs recipe for dinner tonight I've decided - already have the ingredients to hand so why wait??!!

      Have a great weekend!
      Gill xx

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    3. Let me know how your meal turned out, Gill. If you follow my recipe, you should get lovely soft, moist meatballs.

      BUON APPETITO!

      ANNA

      xxx

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  7. Hi Anna, BUON ANNO!!!!
    This was a very nice post to read, you really can express feelings through written words. So you do have spaghetti with meatballs in south of Italy?? I thought it was an americanised dish only made in America! Good to know then, because it's pretty damn good! Have a very nice beginning of new year!

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  8. Hi! Of course meatballs are Italian! The people who introduced this dish to America were the Italian immigrants of many, many years ago, mainly from Southern Italy. Like all things good and beautiful, meatballs are ALL italian!

    We usually have the sauce on pasta (any kind, really, as long as it's a big pasta shape, or long pasta.)Ppeople abroad think we only eat spaghetti and lasagna. The truth is that there are hundreds of pasta shapes and so many dishes, that you could cook something different every day, for a couple of years! But you already know that! And... we only eat pizza four or five times a year (less for me!)

    We usually have pasta and sauce first, followed by meatballs with a side dish and maybe a bread roll.

    Meatballs are cooked all over Italy.

    Ma tu parli l'italiano, vero? Sono contenta che ti piacciono i miei piccoli ricordi. A me piace tanto tuffarmi nel passato. E' l'aspetto del blog che mi dà più gioia!

    Grazie per la visita!

    Ti auguro tanta fortuna nel 2013!

    UN ABBRACCIO

    ANNA
    xx

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  9. Oh how wonderful to see you back Anna.
    I love this recipe..its not much different from the one that i make, and believe it or not ..i made it on Thursday.. I adore pasta
    You write about your christmases with 'mamma Rosa' . Your stories are so lovely and i feel the love that you have for them .. our parents are always with us.. especially when we were so well loved.
    Happy New Year Anna.
    hugs val xxx

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  10. Dear Val...

    Words cannot express how happy I feel when you tell me how much you love reading my little stories. I have so much to share... so much love stored inside me, so many smiles, so much music and poetry to give... I wish I were more talented, so I could involve you even more.

    Thank you SO MUCH for appreciating my blog as much as you do.

    FELICE ANNO NUOVO, Val. May the new year bring you much happiness and serenity.

    HUGS

    ANNA

    xxx

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  11. Wonderful blog and amazing recipe thankyou for sharing your memories in such a lovely way. Annie x

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, Annie, for appreciating my writing, as well as the recipe. I believe this is the first time so many of you have commented on my memories, Thank you! It means a lot to me!

      Thanks again...

      ANNA
      xx

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  12. Dear Anna,
    I wish you a very happy new year with lots of magic moments!

    Your recipe MUST taste wonderful!

    ♥ Franka

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    Replies
    1. Hi Franka!

      i love life's "MAGIC MOMENTS!" so... Thank you! May you have lots of those, too!

      PS: If you make my polpette, Franka, you will live one of those moments! Try!

      CIAO!

      ANNA
      xx

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  13. Beautiful memories Anna. Thank you for your sweet comment on my blog. It is much appreciated!

    Wishing you and your family all the best for a Happy, Healthy and Creative New Year!

    The meat balls sound delicious!

    Madelief x

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    Replies
    1. Hello!

      I must say... your blog is FANTASTIC! I love it! And... we share a passion for old, vintage, or antique cups.

      We just bought a town house in Italy and, the only thing of mine which is alreadi there is a fantastic set of cups and saucers, plus other "bits!" Santa brought me more "goodies," too!

      I am so glad you enjoy reading my little memories.

      Thank you so much!

      ANNA
      x

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  14. Dear Anna- Oh yum! I can almost taste that wonderful tomato-y richness!
    I love this post, as I agree, we are so connected to the past by smells. For me the scent of the Christmas tree in the front room sums up all my Christmas memories.
    Wishing you and your family the happiest of New Years, love Jane xx

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    Replies
    1. Hello, sexy booklady! How is the black corset? I have two or three, too, which I wear in Italy.

      Jane... I believe in the power of scents. Have you read Baudelaire (Les Fleurs Du Mal)and Pablo Neruda? Pablo is more of a symbolist, but his poetry really "talks" to my heart. I believe in the power of scents.

      Dear Jane, I think you and I have a lot in common. Born in different countries, we both incorporate essence of the eccentric woman. They don't make them like us, anymore! I wouldn't have it any other way!

      Wishing you a CRAZY NEW YEAR!

      HUGS

      ANNA
      xxx

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  15. Kali Chronia! A Happy New Year from Greece!
    I just found your blog and wanted to tell you how overwhelmed I am with Italy after my trip earlier this year- well actually, last year!
    Although our countries' cuisines have much in common, I really look forward to your new recipes so I can bring back my memories from my trip there when I make them!

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  16. Thank you very much for visiting my blog!

    It makes me happy to think that someone from another country loves my Italy! It is a wonderful country and I love it very, very much.

    You are right: the cuisines of our countries do have some common elements (though, to me, Greek food is really exotic!)but there are flavours which are uniquely Greek and Italian.

    On my blog you will find 100 or so recipes (so far.) Each of them authentic and reminiscent of the colours and scents of Italy and little stories about Anna growing up in Italy.

    Please do come back and comment again.

    Kali Chronia! Felice Anno Nuovo

    ANNA

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  17. I have missed your Italian memories Anna and your delicious recipes. These memories of your childhood at Christmas time are particularly nostalgic along with the beautiful images.
    What could be better on a winter evening than Pasta alla Salsa al Pomodoro con Deliziose Polpette, so warming and very Italian.
    Sorry I am late to your dinner party, hope you saved a plate of food for me.
    Ciao♥

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    1. Good morning, Rosemary!

      So good to read your comment! I am glad to be back, too.

      There will always be a little seat for you round my Italian kitchen table, don't worry!

      As you can see, I am cooking a delicious meal, specially for you! See you this evening at 6.30. I didn't save a plate of food for you, as I planned to cook something really good, fresh and special for my friend Rosemary!

      Hugs

      ANNA
      xxx

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  18. Ciao Anna and happy New Year!!!
    Such a beautiful and moving post, thank you for sharing your family memories with us!
    x

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    1. Hello Michela!

      Sorry I didn't reply before, but it was my birthday yesterday and, as you can imagine... it was a budy day!

      Buon anno anche a te!

      I'm so happy to realize how many of my followers actually read my posts! THANK YOU! I'm glad you enjoy my stories: they come from the heart!

      BUONA DOMENICA E ABBRACCI

      ANNA
      xx

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  19. Hallo Anne!Wishing you and your family all the best for a Happy, Healthy and Creative New Year!Glad to meet you!I see you love Greek and Italian food!!And your recipe looks great!I'll be happy if you come for a visit on my blog!
    http://decdimisaussi.blogspot.gr/
    Wishing you a lovely weekend!
    Dimi..Athens,Greece

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    1. Hi Dimi!

      I will certainly visit your blog! I love everything Greek, especially the people, the music, Theodorakys and Retzina!

      I love Athens, Dimi! Have been there twice!

      ANNA

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  20. una ricetta classica che spiega le festività a tavola
    a recipe that shows the beauty of Christmas

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    Replies
    1. Ciao Carmine!

      E' una ricetta classica, per noi "Every day food" che è sempre il più buono!

      Torna a commentare. mi fa tanto, tanto picere!

      CIAO!

      ANNA

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