Baccala Meatballs: Polpette di Musillo

Name: Baccala Meatballs: Polpette di Musillo
Prep time: 1 h
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Global
Ingredients: 454 grams whole peeled plum tomatoes, preferably San Marzano, drained and crushed by hand; 3 larges eggs; 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced; 1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil; 237 milliliters black Gaeta olives, pitted; 1 bunches fresh oregano, leaves finely chopped to yield 1/8 cup; 4 servings Salt and freshly ground black pepper; 907 grams dried salt cod (baccala), soaked for 48 hours in cold water, changing water at least twice daily; 79 milliliters salt-packed capers, rinsed; 6 slices soft, white sandwich bread; 237 milliliters nocino (green walnut liqueur)

Baccala Meatballs: Polpette di Musillo might be just the main course you are searching for. One serving contains 928 calories, 153g of protein, and 19g of fat. This recipe serves 4. It is a good option if you're following a dairy free and pescatarian diet. A mixture of gaetan olives, nocino, salt and pepper, and a handful of other ingredients are all it takes to make this recipe so flavorful. To use up the olive oil you could follow this main course with the Sauteed Banana, Granolan and Yogurt Parfait as a dessert. From preparation to the plate, this recipe takes roughly 1 hour.

Instructions

Rinse the soaked baccala and pat dry with a kitchen towel.

Ingredients you will need

Salt Cod

Equipment you will use

Kitchen Towels

Lightly oil a 10-inch metal baking pan.

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Cooking Oil

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Baking Pan

In a shallow bowl or pan, lay the bread slices flat.

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Bread

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Bowl

Frying Pan

Pour the nocino over the bread and let stand, so that the liquor soaks into and softens the bread.

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Liquor

Bread

Roughly chop the baccala into chunks, about 1/4-inch each.

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Salt Cod

Place these chunks in a medium-sized braising pot.

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Pot

Add the half the olives and half the capers.

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Capers

Olives

Add the soaked bread, pouring in any of the excess nocino, and use either your hands or a wooden spoon to blend all the ingredients, breaking up the bread.

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Bread

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Wooden Spoon

Mix until the meatball mixture is homogenous. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and a generous pinch of oregano.

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Salt And Pepper

Meatballs

Oregano

Mix again until well combined.

Add the eggs and mix until completely homogenous.

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Egg

Using your hands, form 12 evenly sized, meatballs from the mixture, each slightly larger in diameter than a golf ball, but smaller than a tennis ball. Using your palm, squash each meatball so that they resemble thick coins in shape. This shape will help them hold up during the cooking process.

Ingredients you will need

Meatballs

Squash

In a 12 to 14-inch saucepan, pour 2 tablespoons of olive oil and heat over medium-high until hot but not smoking. Working in batches of 6 at a time, add the meatballs and cook until brown on all sides, about 6 minutes each batch. Set the browned meatballs aside.

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Meatballs

Olive Oil

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Sauce Pan

In a 14-inch saucepan over medium-high heat, heat 1 tablespoon oil until hot but not smoking.

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Cooking Oil

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Sauce Pan

Add the sliced garlic and cook until soft and light golden brown, about 5 minutes.

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Garlic

Add the tomatoes, the remaining olives, capers and oregano.

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Tomato

Oregano

Capers

Olives

Add salt and pepper, to taste. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and let simmer gently for 15 minutes.

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Salt And Pepper

Add the meatballs and simmer until they are warm throughout.

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Meatballs

Serve immediately.

Equipment

Ingredients

Servings:

454grams

whole peeled plum tomatoes, preferably San Marzano, drained and crushed by hand 3larges

eggs 3

garlic cloves, thinly sliced 1Tbsp

extra-virgin olive oil 237milliliters

black Gaeta olives, pitted 1bunches

fresh oregano, leaves finely chopped to yield 1/8 cup 4servings

Salt and freshly ground black pepper 907grams

dried salt cod (baccala), soaked for 48 hours in cold water, changing water at least twice daily 79milliliters

salt-packed capers, rinsed 6slices

soft, white sandwich bread 237milliliters

nocino (green walnut liqueur)

Recommended wine: Pinot Grigio, Gruener Veltliner, Pinot Noir

Pinot Grigio, Gruener Veltliner, and Pinot Noir are great choices for Cod. Fish is as diverse as wine, so it's hard to pick wines that go with every fish. A crisp white wine, such as a pinot grigio or Grüner Veltliner, will suit any delicately flavored white fish. Meaty, strongly flavored fish such as salmon and tuna can even handle a light red wine, such as a pinot noir. You could try Caposaldo Pinot Grigio. Reviewers quite like it with a 4.5 out of 5 star rating and a price of about 10 dollars per bottle.