Recipes/Lenten 'Meatballs' - Polpette Della Quaresima

Lenten 'Meatballs' - Polpette Della Quaresima

Gennaro Contaldo · Gennaro's Hidden Italy

When I was a child, we would often have polpette (dumplings), made from stale bread and cheese, especially on Fridays and during Lent when meat was forbidden. To me, it’s a shame that this dish has declined in popularity over the years, with the preference for minced meat taking centre stage in most meatball recipes, as here, the bread and ricotta make the polpette so soft they almost melt in your mouth. This is delicious cooked in a tomato sauce and served with a green side salad for a meat-free meal.

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I discovered this example of Ancient Roman cuisine through the Historical Italian Cooking Blog, which quoted it from the Apicius, a collection of Roman recipes, which may date back to the 5th century. The original recipe uses a whole suckling pig and the herbs lovage and rue in the sauce. However, I have adapted this, preferring fennel seeds and rocket in place of rue, a very bitter herb no longer recommended as edible. In Ancient Rome, garum (a fermented fish sauce) was widely used as a condiment for this feast. The modern-day equivalent, colatura di alici, is made from fresh anchovies. It has quite a pungent flavour so should be used sparingly, but combined with runny honey, herbs and spices, it really works.

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Babà All'Arancia - Orange-Infused Baba

Gennaro Contaldo · Slow

Babà is a classic Neapolitan dessert which is usually made with rum. In my region, where lemons are plentiful, the pastry shops often make it with limoncello. For this recipe, I decided to give oranges a go and it really works well. Please note, you need to make this at least one day before you intend to serve it as it needs to dry out overnight before being soaked in the syrup.

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Pasta Frittata Lots of Ways

Gennaro Contaldo · Jamie's Food Tube: The Pasta Book

This pasta frittata dish from Gennaro Contaldo is as versatile as it is tasty. The basic recipe can be adapted to include cheese, cherry tomatoes or pancetta.