Anniversario Italiano
My parent’s 26th anniversary was near the end of April. I wanted to celebrate their anniversary with them, the best way I knew how, with a home-cooked anniversary dinner! They like Italian food, so I got straight to work making an Italian meal for them.
However, I didn’t want to just make pizza and pasta and call it a day. I really enjoy getting to learn about cultures through food, so instead of taking the easier route, I decided to make more nuanced Italian dishes. I went with the potato-based Gnocchi, Polpette, or traditional Italian meatballs (hold the spaghetti), and Insalata Tricolore, a colorful Italian salad.
POLPETTE
Origin
The origin of Polpette can be traced to Persia. The Persian meatballs are believed to have originated from the use of additional meat to create a dish called “Kofta”. The name most likely originates from the word “koofteh”, which means pounded meat. From Persia, the dish most likely traveled through the Middle East, and eventually found its way to Europe. Polpette also was eaten in Ancient Rome, with the dish consisting of myrtle berries and garum, a fermented fish sauce, and red wine. The balls were then wrapped in pig omentum, a tissue that lines the stomach.
In America, the word “meatballs” typically follows “spaghetti and…” However, in Italy, meatballs are served as a separate dish from the pasta. Spaghetti and meatballs is actually American and is believed to have originated from Italian immigrants in the US. Traditional Italian Polpette is typically served as a side dish with bread and a thick tomato sauce to complement it.
Traditional meatballs are made from beef/pork, however, there are variations including turkey and even fish or potatoes.
Process
The first step of Italian meatballs is the rich tomato sauce. I made a sauce with tomatoes, onions, carrots, and celery to develop the flavor. Green peppers also ended up unexpectedly in my sauce — I used canned tomatoes, not realizing that the type we’d bought also contained green peppers, which wasn’t in the recipe.
Even though tomatoes are the main ingredients in the sauce, I only added the canned tomatoes and tomato paste after cooking the vegetables and other ingredients so they would develop a strong flavor. Once the ingredients were added to the pan, I brought the sauce to a low simmer, covered the pan, and let it sit.
After this, I combined all the ingredients in a blender to create a smooth sauce. Once the mixture was even, I added it back to the pan and put it over low heat and let it sit. The color of the sauce was a surprise. Most likely due to the addition of the green peppers, it came out as a bright orange rather than the dark red color that tomato sauce typically develops.
Then I started with the meatball. The meatball needs bread and for that it has to be soaked in warm milk until it breaks down and creates a thick paste. I used sourdough bread that my mom had made a few days back. Once the milk had warmed up in a saucepan, I tore up pieces of the bread and added them to the heated milk. Gradually, as the bread started to soften as it absorbed the milk. I stirred the mixture with a spatula to break down the bread even more, and to to create a thick, lumpy paste. Once it formed a satisfactory consistency, I let it cool on a separate plate before adding it to the meat mixture.
For the base of the meatballs, I started with a combination of pork and beef, making quite hearty meatballs. I combined it with parmesan, ricotta, eggs, etc., mixing it with my hands and being careful as to not overwork the meat.
One of the most essential steps in creating a proper meatball is seasoning the meat correctly. The recipe called for a few herbs, with dried oregano being amongst them. We didn’t have dried oregano, but that didn’t stop me! What better way to get dried oregano than to dry it yourself. On our porch, we have a small herb garden, and along with herbs like basil, thyme, mint and chives, we also grow oregano. I left out a bunch of oregano to dry. When it was time to add it to the meat, I crumbled it up and seasoned the meat with it.
I then mixed in the bread-milk paste with my hands as well. Once the mixture was combined, I formed the meat into large meatballs.
Then, I rolled the meatballs in flour and then cooked them in oil until they were browned on the top and bottom.
They were still a little pink in the center and obviously still raw, but the balls were soon to be added to the tomato sauce and cooked for the second time in the pan. The second round of cooking truly allowed the meatballs to develop a richer flavor with the tomato sauce. Once they were cooked all the way through, I removed them from the heat to ready them to be served.
Taste
The meatballs were hearty, as I’d expected. We don’t typically have red meat in our house, so this was a special for us, and if I may say so, it was definitely worth it. Although the color of the sauce was a little off-putting at first, the green peppers only added more flavor and intensity to the meatballs. The meat on its own was delicious as well. It was perfectly seasoned and not too fatty or bulky. It was definitely my favorite part of the meal, and even though we were all full, my family and I had to consistently stop ourselves from reaching for another piece.
GNOCCHI
Origin
The name “gnocchi” is believed to originate from the Italian word, “nocca” meaning knuckles in English. It is believed to refer to the shape of gnocchi, round, small pellet-shaped pieces.
To explore the origins of gnocchi, we need to start by finding the origins of potatoes, the primary ingredient in it. Potatoes were originally brought to Europe from South America. Spanish explorers who voyaged through South America are believed to have introduced potatoes to Spain. From Spain, the starch soon spread through Europe. They quickly gained popularity in Northern Italy, where the cooler climate was well-suited for growing potatoes rather than grains. From there, gnocchi and potato-based dishes, such as Patate al Forno were born.
Often gnocchi is compared to pasta. Since it's formed from a dough, is often boiled, and is even served with pasta sauce at times, this comparison seems intuitive. However, pasta, in the traditional sense, takes longer to cook, has a more stable dough, is much harder and more brittle while raw, etc. Gnocchi, on the other hand, is quite soft, even while raw, is made from different ingredients, and takes a much shorter time to cook.
Process
To make the gnocchi, I started by preparing the unpeeled potato. I used a large russet potato and ended up using only one because it was just so large. First, I simmered water in a saucepan with the potato, then I partially covered the pot and let the potato sit in the simmering water until it became tender.
Once it had cooked, I removed the potato from the saucepan and let it cool until I could peel it. The recipe called for a ricer, which we did not have. (Unfortunately my mom had given it away just the week before because we hardly used it.) So I had to be a little creative in coming up with new solutions.
The first plan we had was to grate the potatoes.
However, this only created strings of potato pieces. In the end, I just used a fork to mash up the softened potatoes.
Once it resembled mashed potatoes, it was time to mix in the other ingredients. Few ingredients are included in gnocchi. I mixed in flour, salt, and an egg with the potato and eventually, formed the dough.
I kneaded the dough with my hands until it formed a solid ball, and covered it with a cloth so as to not let it dry out. However, the dough was much stickier than I had expected, so I had to add much more flour to form the individual pieces of gnocchi. After the mixture developed a sticky, yet thick consistency, it was ready to be made into gnocchi.
I gradually separated parts of the dough, while I left the rest covered by cloth, and rolled out thin cylinders. Once I had the thickness I wanted, I cut the dough into small pieces and put them to the side. This took much longer than I expected because I had to cut each individual piece by hand, one by one. Once I had formed all of the pieces of raw gnocchi, I boiled water and began to cook the gnocchi.
While regular pasta typically takes 8-10 minutes to cook, the gnocchi only took about 3 to 4 minutes to float to the surface of the water. However, even with the largest pot, I could find, I couldn’t boil more than about 10 pieces in each batch to prevent the gnocchi from sticking together. So, all in all, the small boiling time didn’t make much of a difference in its overall cooking time, and in actuality, ended up taking much longer than typical pastas do.
Taste
Unfortunately, the gnocchi ended up tasting pretty bland. Because it's made from simple ingredients like flour and potatoes, it tasted quite flavorless. It wasn’t bad, , it just tasted like potatoes or rice, and seemed more like a side for a meat dish. To bring some more flavor to it, I did end up mixing it with the tomato sauce and meatballs, which did help add some flavor. If I ever made the dish again, I would definitely recommend adding some kind of rich sauce to it, in order to bring out the flavor of the gnocchi.
INSALATA TRICOLORE
Origin
Insalata Tricolore is a salad most recognizable for its bright, tri-colored presentation. The three colors are dark green, which comes from the arugula leaves, maroon from the radicchio, and white, which comes from the endive.
The arugula leaves originated in the Meditteranean. It's quite commonly used in Europe, but more specifically, is most well known for its prominence in Italian cuisine. Radicchio is the brightest in the salad with its bright red color. Its origins are in the Northern Italian town of Chioggia. The full name of radicchio is actually Radicchio Rosso di Chioggia, in reference to the town.
Insalata Tricolore is a typical side salad in Northern Italy and is known for its light, fresh flavor.
Process
To prepare the three main components, I started by cutting up the radicchio into thin, triangle-shaped pieces. The endive was cut into circular chips and added to the arugula and radicchio. I then combined the ingredients needed for the simple vinaigrette. The vinaigrette brings the main flavor to the salad. In a small bowl, I mixed olive oil, fresh lemon juice, dijon mustard, and a few other ingredients in order to develop a tangy dressing.
Taste
The salad added a nice light flavor to the meal that balanced out the rich meatballs very well. Although it was a little bitter due to the arugula and radicchio, the endive added a nice light touch to it, and the dressing gave it a much-needed kick. The tang was a nice contrast to the more traditional and earthy flavors of the meatballs and gnocchi and served as a great side to our meal. The presentation only made it more delicious.
Conclusion
All in all, it was a really beautiful meal and I’m glad I got the opportunity to celebrate my parent’s special day. I tried to make an authentic meal with characteristics that I knew each of them would like. For my mom, who loves to experiment with food, the more nuanced, gnocchi. For my dad, the hearty, meat-based dish, the meatballs, has always been a must-have for him whenever we go to our favorite Italian restaurant. For both of them, the healthy element of the meal, the salad, was not only pleasing to the eye, but also to the mouth, with its light taste.
Just a year ago, I had posted my second blog post, about making a Japanese meal for my parent’s anniversary dinner! It was strange, yet exciting, to see how my blog, and I had grown in the past year. I’m amazed at how far I’ve come and I only hope to continue creating a cusine collection that I can look back on with pride.
