Italian

Polpette al Sugo (Meatballs in Tomato Sauce)

Name: Polpette al Sugo (Meatballs in Tomato Sauce)
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 1 lb ground beef; 1/2 cup breadcrumbs; 1 large eggs; 1/3 cup grated parmesan; 2 garlic cloves; 2 cups tomato passata; 4 leaves fresh basil; 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil; 1/2 tsp salt

Giulia @giulia_torino

Polpette al Sugo (Meatballs in Tomato Sauce) is Italian home cooking, eaten at dinner. On the plate it is the dish at the centre. Below is what usually sits beside it, what it does and does not contain, and what else to cook once you have made it.

45 min Medium

Ingredients

Serves

The quantities follow this count.

1 lb ground beef
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1 large eggs
1/3 cup grated parmesan
2 garlic cloves
2 cups tomato passata
4 leaves fresh basil
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp salt

How to cook it

Mix the ground beef with the breadcrumbs, egg, parmesan, half the garlic and the salt until just combined.
Shape into small meatballs, about the size of a golf ball.
Warm the olive oil in a skillet and brown the meatballs on all sides, about 6 minutes, then set aside.
Add the remaining garlic to the same skillet, cook 30 seconds, then pour in the tomato passata.
Return the meatballs to the sauce, cover, and simmer until cooked through, about 20 minutes.
Scatter with basil and serve hot with bread and a contorno, this is a secondo eaten with a fork and bread, not spooned over pasta.

Watch how to cook Polpette al Sugo (Meatballs in Tomato Sauce)

Someone making it start to finish, so you can see what the steps look like.

POLPETTE AL SUGO Ricetta Facile - Fatto in Casa da Benedetta Play the video

Serve it with

A Italian dinner is a plate rather than a single dish. These are the courses that normally sit beside Polpette al Sugo (Meatballs in Tomato Sauce), read from the same composition Dinejot builds a real meal from.

The cooked vegetable
- Cicoria Ripassata (Sauteed Bitter Greens)
  
  20 min
Something cool and fresh
- Insalata Caprese (Caprese Salad)
  
  10 min

Safe at your table

Dinejot tracks ten allergens and tags every one of them by hand, so the absences below are as deliberate as the presences. Polpette al Sugo (Meatballs in Tomato Sauce) carries dairy, gluten, and eggs. It is free of the remaining 7 allergens on that list.

Every tracked allergen in Polpette al Sugo (Meatballs in Tomato Sauce)
Allergen	In this dish	Cook this instead
Peanuts	No
Tree nuts	No
Dairy	Yes	Chicken Cacciatore
Gluten	Yes	Butternut Squash Risotto
Shellfish	No
Eggs	Yes	Affettati e Formaggio (Cold Cuts and Cheese Plate)
Soy	No
Fish	No
Sesame	No
Coconut	No

These tags are set by a person rather than inferred from an ingredient list, and they describe the recipe as written here. Read the labels on whatever you actually buy.

What it brings to the plate

Estimated, per serving

Calories: 530 kcal
Protein: 38 g
Carbs: 28 g
Fat: 30 g
Fiber: 3 g
Sugar: 5 g
Sodium: 430 mg
Saturated fat: 9 g

Estimated values. Actual nutrition varies with ingredients, brands, and how you cook.

When to cook it

Polpette al Sugo (Meatballs in Tomato Sauce) takes about 45 minutes from a cold stove to the table, and the cooking itself is a fair bit of work. It is eaten at dinner. Nothing in the calendar rules it out, so it is a year round dish.