This typical Roman cuisine comes from the lower classes: therefore, it is poor and above all it is rich in recipes for “recycling.”
When you make the broth, the advancing meat is not really tasty, and a way must be found to reuse it. One of the smartest ways is this.
This recipe is very tasty and reminds me of my childhood.

Fried Meatballs from boiled meat

  • Preparation time: 30 minutes
  • Ingredients for 8 servings
  • Difficulty: Easy recipe

  • Ingredients
  • For the meatballs:
  • 200 gr or 7 oz of advanced boiled meat
  • 1 egg
  • 40 gr or 1 ½ oz of stale bread
  • 50 gr or 2 oz of mortadella
  • 20 gr or ¾ oz of grated pecorino cheese
  • 1 glass of warm milk
  • Chopped parsley to taste
  • Salt and Pepper to taste.
  • For breading:
  • 2 eggs
  • Pastry flour to taste
  • Breadcrumbs to taste
  • Peanut oil for frying
  1. Instructions
  2. Cut the stale bread into cubes and dip them in warm milk.
  3. Chop the parsley with a knife.
  4. Chop the boiled meat and mortadella very finely.
  5. Put the meat and mortadella in a pan. Add the pecorino, the egg, the chopped parsley. Mix everything well, add salt and pepper.
  6. With the mixture make balls as big as a walnut.
  7. Meanwhile, prepare the breading. Place the flour in a dish. In a bowl, beat the egg with freshly ground pepper. Put the breadcrumbs in a large bowl.
  8. Lightly flour the meatballs. Pass them first through the beaten egg and then the breadcrumbs. Pass them a second time through the beaten egg and again in the breadcrumbs.
  9. Put the oil in a pan and bring it to a temperature of 325°F . Dip a few meatballs at a time and fry them until golden brown.
  10. Drain the meatballs on absorbent paper towel.

Tips to ensure the success of the dish:

  • It would be appropriate to pass the boiled meat and the mortadella through the meat grinder. Otherwise, for those who do not have a meat grinder like me, cut it very finely with a knife.
  • Put a few meatballs in the boiling oil at a time to avoid lowering the temperature too much.
  • Always use a thermometer to measure the oil temperature. It is an inexpensive but useful tool to prevent the smoke point from overflowing with oil.