Words by Gennaro Contaldo. Photo by David Loftus.
In Naples, anything cuzzitiello means it is served and eaten inside a bread roll. Traditionally a soffritto, a spicy stew of various animal offal, was served this way as street food and you can find places in Naples where this dish is still made. However, these days meatballs and vegetarian options are more popular and the inspiration for this dish came to me while travelling in Calabria, where I tasted the softest meatballs ever with just a little minced pork for flavour combined with aubergine and softened bread. Using the soft inside of the bread rolls to make the meatballs and serving the dish in the bread cavity means you waste nothing and can enjoy a hearty delicious meal, which I’m sure the kids will love. Of course, if you prefer, you can serve the meatballs on their own or with pasta.
For more recipes from Gennaro, you can find them in Gennaro’s Hidden Italy: Regional Recipes to Treasure for Generations
Polpette Nel Cuzzitiello: Meatballs 'street food style'
Ingredients
- 1 medium-sized aubergine
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- 150 g/5 ½ oz minced pork
- 4 large crusty bread rolls
- 1 egg
- ½ handful of flat-leaf parsley
- finely chopped
- 20 g (¾ oz) grated Parmesan cheese
- plain flour, for dusting
- abundant vegetable oil, for shallow frying
- sea salt and freshly ground
- black pepper
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- ½ small onion, finely chopped
- 400 ml (14 fl oz) tomato passata
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200°C Fan/220°C/425°F/gas mark 7.
- Prick the aubergine all over with a fork and roast in the hot oven for about 40 minutes until softened, then set aside.
- In the meantime, in a pan, place the olive oil over a medium heat and sweat the garlic for a few seconds, then add the minced pork and a little salt and pepper and brown the meat all over.
- Remove from the heat and transfer the mixture to a bowl, then set aside.
- In the same pan, make the tomato sauce. Place the olive oil over a medium heat, add the onion and sweat for a couple of minutes. Add the tomato passata along with a little water from rinsing the jar or carton, partially cover the pan with a lid and cook for about 20 minutes, until thickened. Season, then keep warm over a low heat.
- Take the bread rolls, slice a little off the top of each (to form a lid) and scoop out the soft interior – you should have 90 g/3¼ oz of soft bread in total (if you need more, supplement with other bread). Soak the bread in a little water, for a few minutes, until softened. Set aside the hollow bread rolls for later.
- When the aubergine is cooked, remove from the oven and set aside until cool enough to handle, then discard the skin, squeeze out any excess liquid and finely chop the flesh. Also drain the softened bread, squeezing out any excess water with your hands.
- In a bowl, combine the chopped aubergine flesh with the pork, softened bread, egg, parsley and Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper and mix well.
- Take small pieces of the mixture and roll into small balls (roughly the size of walnuts), then dust in flour.
- Heat abundant vegetable oil in a deep-sided pan and, when hot, add the meatballs a few at a time and cook over a medium-high heat for 2–3 minutes on each side, until golden.
- Remove the meatballs using a spider utensil or slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper to soak up the excess oil, then carefully transfer them to the tomato sauce and cook over a medium heat for a couple of minutes to heat through.
- Place a little of the tomato sauce inside each bread roll, then fill with a few meatballs and finish with a little extra tomato sauce.
- Serve immediately, each wrapped in a piece of crumpled baking paper or a napkin.
Gennaro’s Hidden Italy: Regional Recipes to Treasure for Generations by Gennaro Contaldo (Pavilion). Image credit: David Loftus.