Polpete
The polpete are the delicious meatballs of the Italian cuisine, softer than the classic meatballs because they contain breadcrumbs moistened with milk.
27 K 5/5 (1 reviews)
1 hour 55 min.
Easy
25 pieces
15 IngredientsLast modified on: April 8th 2023
For 25 pieces, you will need:
3 slices 
1 glass 
300 g minced beef
½ 
50 g Parmesan (Parmigiano Reggiano)
2 
4 tablespoons 
1 
2 
1 sprig 
1 
300 g peeled and chopped tomatoes
Times for this recipe
Preparation: 30 min.
Resting: 1 hour
Cooking: 25 min.
All in all: 1 hour 55 min.
If you start now, at , you will finish around : ?.Change start time
To finish around 7pm, you'll need to have started before: .Change end time
Step by step recipe
Stage 1 - 5 min.
Stage 2 - 5 min.
Stage 3 - 5 min.
Add the milk-soaked bread, squeezed between your hands, grated 50 g Parmesan (Parmigiano Reggiano) and 2 eggs.
Stage 4 - 3 min.
Mix thoroughly.
You can do it with a mixer, or simply by hand...
You can do it with a mixer, or simply by hand...
Stage 5
...until you get...
Stage 6 - 1 hour
...a homogeneous mixture.
Let rest 1 hour in the refrigerator if possible.
Let rest 1 hour in the refrigerator if possible.
Stage 7 - 10 min.
Shape them into balls and place them on a baking sheet, possibly protected by a sheet of baking paper.
If you don't use them right away, you can freeze them at this stage: put the baking sheet in the freezer, and when the balls are frozen, transfer them to a closed plastic freezer bag.
If you don't use them right away, you can freeze them at this stage: put the baking sheet in the freezer, and when the balls are frozen, transfer them to a closed plastic freezer bag.
Stage 8 - 5 min.
Cooking
In a large frying pan over medium heat, pour in 4 tablespoons olive oil and when it is hot add the dumplings, just brown them on each "face".Put on hold in a plate
Stage 9 - 1 min.
In the same pan, add a little olive oil, then chopped 1 shallot, 2 bayleaves, 1 sprig thyme, 1 garlic clove, salt and pepper.
Cook for 1 minute, without browning.
Cook for 1 minute, without browning.
Stage 10 - 10 min.
Pour in 300 g peeled and chopped tomatoes, add more salt and pepper, and let thicken gently for about 10 minutes.
Stage 11 - 5 min.
Add the previously set aside meatballs, sprinkle with tomatoes and let them warm up slowly.
Stage 12 - 2 min.
Stage 13
Serve the polpete with the side dish of your choice, in this case white rice, and a generous helping of tomato puree.
Remarks
In principle, popete is beef, but you can also put several meats together: beef + pork for example, or beef + veal.
Pecorino instead, or with it, Parmesan is also a very good option.
Pecorino instead, or with it, Parmesan is also a very good option.
Keeping: 1 or 2 days in the refrigerator, protected by a stretch film.
Source: Home made.
Nutritional information
| Proteins (gr) | Carbohydrates (gr) | Fats (gr) | Energy value (in k-calories) | Energy value (in k-joules) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whole recipe | 310 RDI=120 % | 1,750 RDI=170 % | 180 RDI=30 % | 2,170 RDI=110 % | 9,080 RDI: 110 % |
| Per 100 g | 30 RDI=10 % | 150 RDI=10 % | 20 RDI=2 % | 190 RDI=9 % | 780 RDI: 9 % |
| Per piece | 10 RDI=5 % | 70 RDI=7 % | 7 RDI=1 % | 90 RDI=4 % | 360 RDI: 4 % |
How much will it cost?
- For 25 pieces : 7.20 €
- Per piece : 0.30 €
Change currency: 
Note: Be careful, these prices are only an estimate, you can consult the table of prices by ingredients used for this estimate.
This recipe uses (among others)
Peeled and chopped tomatoes
Like these other recipes: Enchiladas, Sunday night pasta, Tomato sauce (for pizzas), Rice à l'italienne, Sausage rougail, ... See them all 15
Minced beef
Like these other recipes: Polenta parmentier, Gisèle's Pasties, Meatballs, Stuffed tomatoes and courgettes, Algerian brik rolls, ... See them all 15
Parmesan (Parmigiano Reggiano)
Like these other recipes: Purple Pesto, Brussels sprout salad, Roast Brussels sprouts with sage and lemon, Gratin of purple artichokes, Crispy rolls with chicken and leek, ... See them all 59
Olive oil
Like these other recipes: Ham "friand" pie, Aperitif rolls, Endive and beer soup, Broken eggs with mushrooms, Cretan-style salmon , ... See them all 527
Other recipes you may also like
Pitta bread
This Lebanese speciality is made as a flat round pocket, which can be filled with all manner of things.January 8th 2025530 K 14.5 2 hours 50 min.
Chocolate rolls (petits pains)
Here is a recipe for "real" chocolate petits pains, i.e. with a milk bread dough (not croissants dough) and with a stick of chocolate inside.October 30th 2021444 K4.6 5 hours 30 min.
Pizza dough
Pizza dough is a lind of bread dough with olive oil, which make it softer. This is the same dough that I use for pizzas and flammenkuches, this is no doubt incorrect, but it's very good nevertheless. At home we used to make pizza dough quite thick, and flammenkuche as thin as possible.September 22th 2024513 K4.6 1 hour 60 min.
Preserved tomatoes
Softer than dried tomatoes, they can be used as a kind of chutney in pasta dishes for instance, or simply served to accompany an aperitif.February 21th 2011347 K4.8 5 hours 6 min.
Koulibiak in pie dish
Koulibiak is a traditional russian recipe from, usually served in a flat puff pastry fish shape. Here is an easier version, in a pie dish.September 7th 2018375 K3.8 3 hours 20 min.
News list of cooking-ez.com
Sign up to receive the latest recipes (next batch due to be sent on 2025-07-06)
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Post a comment or question
Follow this recipe
If you are interested in this recipe, you can "follow" it, by entering your email address here. You will then receive a notification immediately each time the recipe is modified or a new comment is added. Please note that you will need to confirm this following.
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Alternatively: you can subscribe to the mailing list of cooling-ez.com , you will receive a e-mail for each new recipe published on the site.