Polpette di Patate

We use the name polpette for many dishes; it translates to meatball, but there is no meat in these.  Both sets of grandparents could not afford meat every day of the week during the depression and war years; and so, they found a way to substitute hearty ingredients.  Mom recounts how they had 12 chickens and a rooster.  The chickens laid eggs which are the binding block behind these recipes, but they are also high in protein.  The other ingredients in this recipe: the potato provided the vitamin C.

Mom says you must never think that you will always have eggs

One day when she was a little girl, the chickens got sick and died.  They couldn’t afford to go out and buy them again.  My nonno Salvatore would go out and buy one chicken every time he got paid.  It was a long time before they had eggs every day.  Chickens were an important part of the diet as the meat helped the sick, young mothers, and the broth helped cure stomach ailments.  They were very expensive to buy.

The Recipe that keeps on giving

These Polpette di patate are warm, smooth and comforting.  Growing up, we usually ate them as a second course.  Of course, we always would steal a few piping hot. I watched my mother make them over the Christmas holidays and this was a special treat.  As I listened to her stories, I realized that I bring Polpette di Patate to my table as generations before me did with pride.

The ingredients are simple.

Her hands work quickly and she forms a solid dough.

She takes a couple of tablespoons of the dough, puts it in her hands and flattens it.

Next she nestles a large piece of mozzarella in the dough.

She pinches it together and rolls them in long oblong shapes.

Assembled on a plate, they begin to take shape.

The frying gives them that dark golden crust.

YUM!! I couldn’t wait to take them to the table.