This recipe is freely taken from a book by a Roman chef, Arcangelo Dandini. He makes it with boiled beef and veal, but I never have any leftovers at home, so I use what I make the broth with!

Fried Meatballs with Raisins and Pine Nuts

  • Preparation time: 20 minutes
  • Ingredients for 4 servings
  • Difficulty: Easy recipe

  • Ingredients
  • 400 g of broth meat
  • 50 g of breadcrumbs
  • 1 egg
  • Nutmeg to taste
  • 1 tablespoon paprika
  • 40 g of soaked and squeezed raisins
  • 40 g of pine nuts
  • Extra virgin olive oil to taste
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • 1 sprig of rosemary
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Flour to taste
  • Peanut oil for frying to taste
  1. Instructions
  2. Chop the meat well.
  3. In a cup of boiling water, soak the raisins for a few minutes. Drain it and squeeze them well.
  4. In a pan with some extra virgin olive oil, toast the pine nuts together with the chopped garlic and the rosemary sprig. Turn off the heat, remove the rosemary, and leave to cool.
  5. Add the garlic pine nuts to the meat along with the raisins, egg, and breadcrumbs. Mix it well.
  6. Season with salt and pepper.
  7. Form meatballs the size of a walnut. Flour them.
  8. In a pan, bring the seed oil to a temperature of 350°F.
  9. Dip a few meatballs at a time and fry until golden brown.
  10. Drain the meatballs and place them on absorbent paper.
  11. Season with salt and serve.

Tips to ensure the success of the dish:

  • I use a mix of meat, mostly beef and chicken. I chop it up in the mixer using a few pulses because I don’t have a meat grinder.
  • Always use a thermometer to measure the oil temperature. It is an inexpensive tool and is useful for keeping the oil from exceeding the smoke point.
  • Insert only a few meatballs at a time into the boiling oil so as to avoid lowering the temperature too much.