Grandmas' recipes do not usually come with a thermometer, digital scale or technical explanations about what happens inside a meatball when it goes through the pan. They are learned by watching, repeating and listening to instructions as imprecise as “until you see it.” However, Italian-American chef Domenico “Mimmo” Tolomeo has turned the family recipe of his nonna in a formula that anyone can reproduce at home.
Tolomeo is the corporate chef of the import company Orlando Foods since 2022, a member of the organization of elite pizza professionals World Pizza Champions and co-owner of Taglio Pizza, in New York. Although his professional career is closely linked to pizza, it is not the only Italian dish he masters. To prepare meatballs, he continues to resort to the handwritten recipe book that his grandmother took with him from Naples when she emigrated to the United States in the 1960s. “One of the most important things I learned about myself nonna “I didn't want to complicate it too much,” he told The Kitchn.
His recipe mixes 225 grams of minced beef and the same amount of pork with two eggs, grated parmesan, parsley, basil, salt and pepper. However, the ingredient that makes the difference is much more humble: two slices of crustless white bread quickly dipped in liquid cream. There is no need to leave them softening inside, just wet them for a second or two.
Bread dipped in cream, the secret to making them tender
“That soaked bread is very important because it makes the inside soft and tender, instead of dense,” explains the cook. Likewise, Tolomeo warns against adding breadcrumbs directly because it can absorb some of the moisture from the meat. The cream, however, provides moisture that later remains inside the meatball, although it is of little use if we knead the mixture as if it owed us money. His advice is to work it only just enough until all the ingredients are integrated.
Of course, when it comes to shaping them, the chef does exchange grandmother's intuition for the precision of a scale. Prepare portions of between 40 and 50 grams so that they are all similar in size and cook at the same rate. Then heat extra virgin olive oil over medium heat and add enough to cover the meatballs approximately halfway, without submerging them completely. Fry them for two minutes on one side, turn them over to form a crust and lower the heat before cooking them for another 10 or 12 minutes.
However, if they are going to end up accompanied by tomato sauce, Tolomeo suggests a small variation: brown them first for two or three minutes and then complete the cooking slowly in the sauce. For him, this initial step is not dispensable, because the crust adds a layer of flavor that cannot be achieved by placing the raw meatballs directly into the casserole.
There is still one last weight because, as soon as you take them out of the pan, and while they are still hot, the cook sprinkles a little sea salt on top. “It seems simple, but that last touch of salt awakens all the flavors,” he says.
Cover photo | Magnific/chandlervid85 and Domenico Tolomeo in Caputo
In DAP | Lidl will launch stackable trash cans in stores next Friday, September 25, perfect for recycling.
In Xataka | Damn modern gardens: the exotic ornamental tree that is helping Europe's first invasive bee to spread
