Recipe - Sicilian Sweet And Sour Meatballs

MEATBALLS
1 pound Chopped beef steak;
preferably from untrimmed
Tbone or porterhouse tails
1/3 cup Plus 1 tablespoon unseasoned
bread crumbs; preferably
freshly made
1/3 cup Grated romano or
incanestrato cheese
1 small Yellow onion; minced
2 Cloves garlic; minced small
5 Fresh Italian; (flat)
parsley springs, coarsely
chopped
Three fourths teaspoon Salt; or to taste
3 Or 4 large eggs
Extravirgin olive oil

SAUCE
Extravirgin olive oil
2 lg Yellow onions; cut or sliced up
Three fourths cup Red wine vinegar
2 One half tablespoon Sugar
2 teaspoon Sweet Marsala or Port wine
12 Sicilian green olives;
pitted and cut into strips

Makes about 9 meatballs, or 4 servings

1. In a large bowl, mix together the meat, bread crumbs, cheese, onion,
garlic, parsley, salt and 3 eggs until the eggs are wellincorporated. If
the mixture seems dry and not very soft, add 1 more egg. With your hands,
make a well in the middle of the meat 2 inches in diameter and 2 inches
deep. Fill the well with One fourth cup olive oil.

2. Generously grease your palms and fingers with the oil from the well.
Shape the mixture into mediumsize ovalsthe size of extralarge
eggscoating the meat with the oil from your hands. When the oil in the
well has been used, refill the well and repeat until all the meat mixture
is used.

3. Generously oil a large frying pan with olive oil and place over medium
heat. Add the meatballs and cook, turning as needed, until wellbrowned,
about 3 minutes on each side. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels
to drain.

4. Lightly oil another large frying pan and place over medium heat. Add the
onions and sauté until golden, about 15 minutes. Add the vinegar, sugar and
wine, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Add the meatballs and olives.
Reduce the heat to low and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes. Turn off the
heat, cover the pan, and allow the meatballs to absorb the sauce for 15
minutes before serving.

5. Serve meatballs with sauce spooned over the top.

Note: If your meat is frozen, thaw it thoroughly; the slightest frost makes
meatballs tough. Meatballs also will be tough if overmixed or if the raw
mixture is left in the refrigerator. The more eggs you add, the softer the
meatballs. If you overdo it, add an extra heaping tablespoon each of bread
crumbs and cheese. Making the sauce in two pans keeps the sauce from
becoming greasy.

From Mangia, Little Italy! by Francesca Romina (Chronicle Books).

Posted to recipeludigest by Sandy sandysno@pctech.net on Mar 06, 1998