Necessity is not merely the mother of invention. It’s the mother of good cooking. What starts out as a dish created out of financial hardship often becomes, over time, a family favorite. Italians refer to these dishes collectively as cucina povera. The women of the Southern Italian region of Puglia are especially good at it.
For example, traditionally after crops were harvested, the fields were burned
to make it easier to prepare them for the next planting. In Puglia, wealthy landowners used to allow peasants to scavenge through the burnt fields for any remaining charred bits of wheat they could find. The peasants turned the meager yield into pasta.
Years of eating scorched wheat pasta gave them a taste for it. Now, many generations later, those who have never had to pick through the stubble of burnt fields to find food enjoy the taste of charred pasta. Today the wheat flour is toasted in commercial ovens rather than burned in the field. Called farina arsa (burned flour), it’s usually sold in the form of Puglia’s famed pasta, orecchiette, or little ears.
I do not mean to romanticize the past or to suggest that poor people always ate wonderful meals or that cucina povera is some sort of glamorous cuisine the poor created for our benefit. Rather, I want to pay tribute to the creativity of the women who managed to make something of nothing, to turn dross into gold.
When I was in Puglia, I ate meatless meatballs, also known as egg patties or cheese balls, and loved them. They’re made more or less like meatballs – with bread crumbs, grated cheese, parsley, garlic, and eggs. But without the meat. And they taste great.
Nevertheless I was surprised when I came across recipes for them in a couple of different issues of old Gourmet magazines. The simple dish Italian mothers concocted from the few ingredients they could get had climbed to the top of the American food world.
Well, why not? They are simple to make, delicious, and inexpensive as well. I modified the recipes a bit, and since they don’t seem to have one official name, I’ve dubbed them polpette di pane, or bread balls.
If you want to make a meatless meal that’s totally satisfying, they’re perfect. Serve them with a marinara sauce, maybe some roasted eggplant, add a salad and you’ve got a meal. Or serve some sweet Italian sausages alongside them, if meat isn’t an issue.
If you can find some farina arsa orecchiette, serve the pasta with the polpette, pour a glass of wine, and toast the inventive women of Puglia.
Polpette di pane
1 cup plain dry bread crumbs, preferably homemade
3/4 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Romano
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 cloves of minced garlic
Salt and pepper
4 eggs
4 tablespoons olive oil
Marinara sauce
Mozzarella (optional)
Combine the ingredients listed above the eggs. Then whisk eggs and stir them into the bread crumb mixture.
Shape into balls and flatten into four or five patties. Refrigerate for half hour or more.
(If they are too dry to shape easily, add a little water. If too loose, add a little more cheese or bread crumbs.)
Heat sauté pan and add oil. Fry patties for about five minutes per side or until they puff slightly and turn golden.
Serve with warm marinara sauce. Top them with a little grated mozzarella, if you like.
Today is virtuous poorly, isn't it?
Posted by: Entessniz | April 26, 2012 at 08:12 AM