Meatballs of Bread with Sauce

Did you have any bread left over? No problem: I can suggest a "perfect idea to recover leftovers. Today we will give a second life to stale bread by transforming it into irresistible meatballs, which we will cook in a tomato sauce flavored with basil.

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Identity Card of the Recipe

• Ingrediants

  For about 30-40 meatballs

  • 30 g of breadcrumbs
  • 1 grated nutmeg
  • Q.b. of pepper
  • Q.b. of salt
  • About 80-100 g of white flour type 00
  • A few stalks of chives
  • 1 sprig of parsley
  • 50 g of seasoned ricotta
  • 60 g (1 medium) of eggs
  • 100 g of fresh ricotta
  • 500 ml of milk
  • 200 g of stale bread

  For the sauce

  • Q.b. of pepper
  • Q.b. of salt
  • A few basil leaves
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
  • 700 g of tomato puree

  Materials Needed

  • Chopping board
  • Knife
  • Bowl
  • Small saucepan with lid
  • Large saucepan
  • Wooden spoon

  Preparation

  1. Cut the stale bread into small pieces, eventually removing the crust (if it is too hard).
  2. Collect the stale bread cubes in a large bowl and sprinkle them with hot milk. Allow the bread to soften until it takes on a very soft consistency.
  3. Meanwhile, prepare the sauce. In a saucepan, pour two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. and flavor with a clove of garlic. Add the tomato puree and season with salt and pepper. Cook the sauce slowly for about 20 minutes, over medium heat.
  4. Take back the bread mixture and, if it is too soft, squeeze it to remove the excess liquid. Enrich the softened bread with chopped parsley, chives, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Flavor with grated aged ricotta and mix with fresh ricotta and an egg. Add as much flour as needed, until the mixture is soft, but not sticky.

  Did you know that
  The amount of flour depends on the type of bread used and the amount of milk that has been absorbed by the bread: if the dough is very sticky, it is advisable to add more flour. Conversely, if the mixture is too dry, avoid overdoing it with flour and, if necessary, correct the consistency with a drop of milk.

  5. With the help of a teaspoon, take a small portion of dough and, rolling it in your hands, create a meatball. To facilitate the formation of the meatball, it is advisable to moisten the hands or the teaspoon. Roll the meatballs on the breadcrumbs, gradually arranging them on a tray.
  6. Proceed in this way until the dough is finished: with these doses, we will obtain about 30 meatballs.

  Did you know that
  The preparation of the bread balls is reminiscent of the dumplings: unlike these Tyrolean specialties, the bread balls are cooked directly in the sauce, they are smaller, lighter and do not contain onion and chopped cold cuts.

  7. When the tomato sauce is ready, flavor with plenty of basil.
  8. Dip the meatballs in the tomato sauce and cook for about 5 minutes.
  9. Serve the meatballs in the sauce with a grated seasoned ricotta.

  The right alternative
  As an alternative to tomato sauce, the bread balls can be boiled in water and flavored in sage-flavored butter or, instead of boiling them in water, they can be fried in boiling oil, thus becoming a very tasty snack.

  Alice's comment - PersonalCooker

  A quick and cheap recipe, which will allow you to achieve success guaranteed by everyone: do the litmus test by offering the loafs of bread to your children, I'm sure they will lick their lips!

  Nutritional values ​​and Health Comment on the recipe

  ATTENTION! Due to the lack of some chemical values ​​of the ingredients, it is not possible to offer a sufficiently detailed nutritional translation.
  The Meatballs of Bread with Sauce are a recipe that falls into the category of first courses.
  They are low in calories, mainly supplied by carbohydrates, followed by lipids and finally proteins.
  Carbohydrates are mainly complex, unsaturated fatty acids and peptides of high and medium biological value.
  They contain a good concentration of cholesterol and the fibers are abundant.
  The Meatballs of Bread with Sauce are a recipe that could be included in the diet against overweight and metabolic diseases. In case of type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertriglyceridemia and obesity it becomes necessary to reduce the average portion.
  These meatballs are tolerated by the lacto-ovo vegetarian philosophy but not by the vegan one. They are unsuitable for food therapy for gluten and lactose intolerance.
  The average portion should be around 170-280g (approximately 200-330kcal).