These polpette in salsa al limone are baked in the oven for 2 and a half hours. That sounds like an impossibly long time for a meatball, but trust me, they will be perfectly moist. Make a double batch and freeze half for a quick weekday meal.
Skip ahead to the recipe for Polpette In Salsa Al Limone
Levelling up
It is so easy to take an ordinary meatball and make them sublime. Levelling up is something I only do to recipes over a weekend when I have the time. To make my meatballs Italian I used ingredients synonymous with the country such as garlic, flat leaf parsley and mint. Mint is the hidden gem of all herbs, encouraging our taste buds to crave another bite. The lemon sauce was the crowning glory to my polpette. Even though our lemons are not as good as the ones in Sicily and the Amalfi coast, they are still zesty. And that is what is needed for these baked delights. I added cannellini beans to my dish, but you could add any tinned white beans that you prefer. Or, level this dish up further and use dried beans that you have cooked from scratch.
Cleaning up
Every now and then I get a bee in my bonnet and do a major clear out. Last year, I sat down together with one of my staff members and cleared out my office shelves. One of the items that was added to the recycling was the box for a keyboard that I had purchased at the beginning of the year. This is not like me to throw something away that I might need in the future. But it was part of the big clean up, and I had no regrets until I needed to return the keyboard as it was faulty. Luckily, I had another one to use, which had a faulty keyboard in it. This is a good reminder that it is often best to start by decluttering and organizing with a bit more intention, especially when it comes to items I might need at a later stage.
Take a look at this inspiring recipe for ♥ Polpette In Salsa Al Limone ♥ from Lavender and Lime #LavenderAndLime Share on X
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Polpette In Salsa Al Limone
Ingredients
for the polpette:
- 500 g extra lean minced beef
- 115 g bread, weighed after the crusts have been removed, and finely chopped
- 5 mls ground paprika
- 5 g flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
- 3 g mint leaves, chopped
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to season
for the salsa al limone:
- 400 g tinned tomatoes
- 100 mls red wine
- 30 mls tomato paste
- 3 g thyme leaves, picked
- 2 lemons, juice and zest
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
bringing it together:
- 224 g tinned cannellini beans, nett weight
Method
for the polpette:
- Preheat the oven to 150° Celsius
- Place the beef, bread , paprika, parsley, garlic, mint and eggs into a mixing bowl
- Season generously and mix using your hands until the ingredients are well combined
- Shape into 24 balls weighing 30g each and place into an ovenproof dish
for the salsa al limone:
- Place the tinned tomatoes into a blender and blitz to make a purée
- Tip into a mix bowl, add the wine, tomato paste, thyme, lemon juice and zest, and season generously
- Mix to combine then pour over the meatballs
- Cover the dish with foil then place into the oven and bake for 2 hours
bringing it together:
- Remove from the oven, remove the foil and add the bean
- Place back into the oven to cook for 30 minutes
- Remove from the oven and serve
See the links below for blog posts I published on February 10:
- 2021: Meze
- 2020: Herb Sauce
- 2019: Juror No. 3
- 2017: Almond Milk Chai
- 2016: Josh Thirion Answers Questions For The Blog
- 2014: Home Made Chocolate
- 2012: Mint Sauce
- 2011: Preserved Lemons
Make my beloved meatballs pretty much the same way – except for not ever having used mint, tho’ I love the herb and make myself mint or Vietnamese mint tea from the garden on many evenings . . . cannellini beans are also oft used. But – your lemon/tomato/wine sauce is different to anything I have made and sounds very interesting . . . wish I had a plate in front of me to taste . . . 🙂 !
I love using mint in savoury dishes. In fact tonight I will be doing that with some lamb I minced yesterday from all the offcuts we had 🙂
They look so flavourful and tender. Very unusual to see mint leaves in Italian meatball recipes..but why not? I meant if you enjoy them.
Unusual is always good, and even if not authentic, they were delicious 🙂
What a great recipe!!
Thank you so much Mimi!
For something so simple as meatballs, it’s all in the details! This is definitely a step up from the norm. I’d love to try incorporating mint and lemon next time, and the addition of beans into the sauce is always welcome.
And I know this recipe would work great with a good vegan meat replacement 🙂
it’s funny how often we will keep something and never use it, but as soon as chuck it … hehehe. Gotta love a meatball!
It happens so often to me at home 😉
I haven’t ever used mint in a meatball – thanks Tandy! I have mint growing in my back yard so am going to try this soon. Now, I need to get a “bee in my bonnet” too and do some major cleaning at my place!
Let me know what you think of using mint in meatballs 🙂
Such a bright and delicious dish, Tandy – these polpette in lemon sauce look wonderfully fresh, tender, and full of flavour!
Thank you so much!
I really like the sound of this dish. I’ll try it 🍋🍸
Hope everyone loves it!