I don't want spaghetti bolognese!

Unlike me not one of my husbands favourite dishes. Yet we always have minced beef in the fridge. I don't know when it started but it just ended up being a staple we bought when we did the weekly shop. Even here in Auckland we have added it to our monthly shop. Maybe it's because secretly bolognese has always been one of my favourite dishes or because hubby makes the best chilli (I must ask him if I can blog about that). Whatever it is there it is in the freezer needing defrosting and now needing a recipe to turn it into something good.

So off I go to do the recipe internet hunt. Now if I am not careful these hunts can take me all day as I uhm and ahh over them trying to figure out which one sounds the best and probably more importantly if I actually have the ingredients in the house. I also hate to overcomplicate things so the simpler I usually believe is the better. Today though hubby had an idea of what he wanted, which can either be a good thing or a bad thing. He wanted polpette and he probably was thinking about how his mum makes it. It is probably a bad idea to think I can ever compare my cooking to his mother's, his Italian mother! So the pressure is on. When I finally find a recipe which even had an Italian title I think I must be in luck.

Polpette di Carne Fritta

Prep time: 30 mins

Cook time: 30 mins

Serves 4

• 400 grams beef
• 150 grams breadcrumbs
• 150 grams grated parmigiano
• 2 eggs
• Minced parsley and garlic to taste 
• Salt and pepper
• Oil and butter for frying

Preparation: Mix the meat with breadcrumbs, parmigiano and eggs and season the mixture to taste with parsley, garlic, salt and pepper. Form them into balls and fry them.

OK so it all went pretty much according to plan until it came to frying them and I without a non stick frying pan (I'm renting my flat and am only in Auckland for a year so it has not made it to the shopping list) got into a bit of trouble. They were sticking to the pan and so therefore breaking apart. After a few curses (I get a bit heated when I cook) I banged them into the oven...easily salvaged and yes they tasted great. You can then pretty much serve them with anything. They are great on a summers day with fresh salad or fried vegetables or just stuff them in a pitta bread with condiments! It is one of those recipes I will head back to again and again.Yummy.