MEATBALLS
Spaghetti and Meatballs, what’s more Italian
than that? Well, a lot of things
actually. There is a constant ongoing debate over whether “Spaghetti and
Meatballs” is an authentic Italian dish or not. Of course spaghetti is Italian
as you can get, and so are Meatballs. However Italians (in Italy) do not eat
them together. Eating Spaghetti with Meatballs is an Italian-American invention
and tradition, and a great one at that, as Lidia Bastianich and other have
written. Italian-American is a great cuisine in itself. It is most truly authentic
Italian with a few twist here and there, like eating Meatballs on the same
plate with Spaghetti instead of two separate courses as they do in Italy.
What’s wrong with that? Maybe the Italian-American mammas of way back (100 years
ago, around 1905 or so) didn’t want to clean twice as many dishes so they
combined the two courses into one. Just kidding, though it is not a bad idea.
Let me
tell you one thing, in case you might not have known. Meatballs, and yes they
are Italian and eaten in Italy, meatballs are infinitely more popular in the
United States than they are in the mother country of Italy. Americans eat
millions more of them a year than their Italian brethren. The Neapolitans and
Sicilians eat them the most in Italy and because of the fact that these are the
areas where the greatest number of Italian immigrants to the U.S. came from,
thus one of the reasons this dish became such a great favorite of Italian
expatriates, their children, grandchildren, and millions of Americans,
including people of other ethnic origins who happen to love the great cuisine
of Italy and Italian-America. Italian is one of the World’s great cuisines. You
don’t have to be Italian to love the food, the same as many Italian-Americans
love to eat Chinese food, it’s tasty, so Mangia!!!
Oh yes, you want to know what kind of meat
goes into the Meatballs? Well the most common in Italian America are Meatballs
made of ground Beef, Pork, and Veal. However, many make their meatballs solely
with Beef, and in Italy and especially Tuscany, Veal Meatballs, “Polpettini”
are quite popular. Whatever meat you choose, just make them tasty, and you’ll
have people coming back for seconds, even third helpings.
One more thing, Meatballs in Sauce (Gravy) are
great but if you ever want a little change when making them? When making
Meatballs for a Sunday Sauce or to serve with Spaghetti on their own, reserve a
dozen or so meatballs that you don’t cook in sauce. Brown the Meatballs, then
pop in the oven to finish cooking and serve on their own without tomato sauce
gravy, and just a little bit of the juices the Meatballs cook in, with some
chopped fresh parsley on top. They taste great this way. You can serve them as
starter course (Antipasto), in a Sandwich, or as a main course with Mashed
Potatoes, or a salad on the side or whatever you choose to serve them with,
they’re “Great.” Try it some time!
Excerpted From SUNDAY SAUCE "When Italian-Americans Cook"
by Daniel Bellino-Zwicke
RECIPE FOR SPAGHETTI & MEATBALLS alla SINATRA in SUNDAY SAUCE
by Daniel Bellino-Zwicke
RECIPE FOR SPAGHETTI & MEATBALLS alla SINATRA in SUNDAY SAUCE
by Daniel Bellino-Zwicke
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