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“Mondeghili” Milan-style meatballs

What makes “mondeghili”, Milanese meatballs, special is that they can be made using leftover meat like roast, boiled or braised meat, for example.

Chef Danilo Angè

Difficulty: easy

Method: 40

Cooking: 5

Difficulty: easy

Method: 40

Cooking: 5

Chef Danilo Angè

Difficulty: easy

Method: 40

Cooking: 5

Difficulty: easy

Method: 40

Cooking: 5

Method

  1. 01 / Prepare the mix for the meatballs

    Place the sandwich bread in a bowl

    Pour the milk over the sandwich bread and leave to soak until the bread is soft

    Peel and chop the parsley

    Mince the meat and place it in a bowl

    Squeeze the softened bread and add it to the minced meat

    Add the Parmesan cheese, chopped parsley and an egg

    Grate the lemon zest into the mixture

    Chop a little nutmeg

    Add salt and pepper to taste

    Mix everything with your hands until all the ingredients are well combined

    The mixture should be compact, not sticky but not too hard

  2. 02 / Make the meatballs

    With the mixture, make balls the size of a golf ball

    Work them with your hands to give them a spherical shape

    They must be very compact

    Slightly crush the balls to flatten them both on top and below

  3. 03 / Add breadcrumbs to the meatballs

    Beat the eggs in a bowl

    Put the breadcrumbs on a plate or baking tray

    Dip the meatballs first in the beaten egg and then in the breadcrumbs

    Press the breadcrumbs together well

  4. 04 / Cook the meatballs

    Put the clarified butter in a frying pan

    Add the sage leaves

    When melted, turn up the heat and add a few meatballs at a time

    Turn the meatballs when browned

    Finish cooking until golden brown on both sides

    They should be golden brown on the outside but soft on the inside

    When removing the meatballs from the pan, place them on paper towels to drain

  5. 05 / Serve

    Serve the meatballs placing them together in a pot or making individual portions

Wine pairing

To respect the Lombard origin of the ‘mondeghili’, serve them with a well-structured and strong red wine like a San Colombano.

If serving the ‘mondeghili’ meatballs as an aperitif, a sparkling Franciacorta is perfect, or even be daring with a cocktail like a spritz.

Make and add the breadcrumbs to the meatballs a few hours in advance, storing them in the fridge until ready to cook.

You can also cook them in advance, they are delicious served at room temperature. This way, if you have guests over, you will avoid the unpleasant smell of fried food in the house.

Don’t forget to put in the sandwich bread soaked in milk, otherwise you will have hard and unpleasant meatballs.

Squeeze the bread well before adding it to the meat so that the mixture is not too liquid.

Check that the meatballs are well compacted, both when you are making them and when you add breadcrumbs, to prevent them from opening while cooking.

Do not make meatballs of different sizes as they need to be the same size to cook evenly.

The meatballs should be golden brown on the outside and soft on the inside: turn up the heat at the beginning of the cooking time to form a crispy crust and then turn it down towards the end so they don’t burn.

Keep the leftover meatballs in the fridge, covered: they are excellent the next day too, eaten warm, at room temperature, or heated in the oven.

If you did not use previously frozen meat, you can also freeze the meatballs and then thaw them in the fridge on the day they are to be eaten.

What makes “mondeghili”, Milanese meatballs, special is that they can be made using leftover meat like roast, boiled or braised meat, for example.

You can mince in cooked or cured ham, sausage or salami paste if you wish.

Chop half a clove of garlic with the parsley if you want a stronger taste.

Clarified butter allows cooking the meatballs in a fat that does not burn; replace it with extra virgin olive oil or seed, peanut, or sunflower oil.

In Milan, meatballs are served as an appetiser or aperitif. For a more refined service, you can plate the meatballs in individual portions, decorating them with a little mayonnaise and a piece of sage, fried together with the meatballs.

Ingredients for 4 people

500 g leftover boiled or roast meat

1 egg for the filling

2 eggs for the breadcrumbs

1 lemon

100 g of sandwich bread

100 ml milk

30 g parsley

80 g grated Parmesan cheese

Nutmeg

200 g breadcrumbs

200 g clarified butter

2 sage leaves

Salt and pepper

Wine pairing

To respect the Lombard origin of the ‘mondeghili’, serve them with a well-structured and strong red wine like a San Colombano.

If serving the ‘mondeghili’ meatballs as an aperitif, a sparkling Franciacorta is perfect, or even be daring with a cocktail like a spritz.

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