Italy · Mains
Polpette al sugo.
Small, tender meatballs slowly simmered in tomato sauce, served the Italian way: on their own, with bread for the sauce.
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The story of polpette al sugo.
In Italy, polpette are a home dish, made in every region in a hundred versions. They were born as a way to use up leftovers: a little meat, stale bread, cheese and herbs, turned into something everyone at the table loves.
In the South, polpette al sugo are a Sunday classic. They simmer slowly in tomato sauce; the sauce often dresses a plate of pasta served first, and the polpette arrive after, as the second course, with good bread to wipe the plate clean. In Italy this is called “fare la scarpetta”.
Origin: Southern Italy, Italy
Where to find the ingredients in the US.
- Meat: ask for a mix of ground beef and ground pork; the pork keeps them soft.
- Bread: a day-old Italian loaf or country bread, crusts removed. Avoid dry breadcrumbs for the mix.
- Tomatoes: a bottle of Italian passata (strained tomatoes), now in most supermarkets.
Three steps. That’s it.
What each stage should look like.
Step 1
Mix gently.
Combine meat, soaked bread, egg, cheese and parsley with a light hand.
Step 2
Brown the polpette.
Sear the small meatballs in olive oil until golden all over.
Step 3
Simmer in the sauce.
Cook them slowly in tomato sauce until tender and full of flavor.
Illustrations created with AI
Recipe
Polpette al sugo.
Prep 25 min · Cook 45 min · Total 1 h 10 min
Ingredients
- ground beef
- ground pork
- day-old bread, crusts removed
- water or whole milk, for soaking
- large egg
- Pecorino Romano or Parmigiano Reggiano, grated
- fresh parsley, finely chopped
- garlic (1 minced for the meatballs, 1 whole for the sauce)
- nutmeg
- salt, plus more for the sauce
- extra-virgin olive oil
- tomato passata
- fresh basil leaves
- loaf of crusty bread, to serve
Instructions
- Soak the bread in the water or milk for 5 minutes, then squeeze it well and crumble it.
- In a large bowl, combine the beef, pork, bread, egg, cheese, parsley, minced garlic, nutmeg, salt and a little pepper. Mix gently with your hands, just until combined.
- Shape into small balls about 1¼ inches (3 cm) wide, about 24 in all.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large pan over medium-high heat and brown the polpette on all sides, in batches. Set them aside.
- In the same pan, warm the remaining oil with the whole garlic clove for 2 minutes, then add the passata, basil and a pinch of salt and bring to a gentle simmer. Remove the garlic.
- Add the polpette, cover partially and simmer for 30 minutes, turning them gently halfway, until cooked through (160°F / 71°C inside). Serve with crusty bread.
Sources consulted: Gambero Rosso. Our own text, with US and metric measurements.
What you’ll need.
Deep sauté pan.
Wide enough for the polpette to simmer in one layer.
Instant-read thermometer.
The easy way to know they are cooked through.
Small cookie scoop.
For polpette all the same size.
