Saturday, May 2, 2020

Polpette and Terredora di Paolo Lacryma Christi del Vesuvio Rosso #IalianFWT

We are visiting Campania today with our Italian Food Wine and Travel group.  I was not familiar at all with this are so I went to my trusty Wine.com site and asked the agent there for some suggestions.
One of his suggestions was this red wine blend from Terredora di Paolo.

wine

I decided to buy this bottle and while waiting for it to arrive started looking at the foods of Campania.  

Susannah of Avvinare is hosting this month.  You can learn all about her visits to Campania and her reasons for choosing to have us explore these wines in her Invitation Post.  Those who want to join her, buy a bottle of wine from the area and blog about their impressions.  Some of us choose to pair our wine with food but that is not a requirement of this group.

Once we have done our tastings we all get together on the first Saturday of the month to talk about it on Twitter Chat at 11 AM ET.  Anybody is welcome to join us and learn more about the wines we chose.  You will find us following #ItalianFWT.  You can learn more about this in Susannah's Preview Post and in these articles written by the members.

Polpette and wine

I normally choose to pair my wine with food and I often try to pair it with food you would find if you visited where it was made.

Terredora di Paolo has been making wine in Campania since 1978.  Campania is an ancient wine region that was famous for producing the finest wines of the Roman Empire.  Terradora di Paolo is the areas biggest wine producer and vineyard.

Polpette

The area is mostly made up of small artisan and family run wineries.  It is near Mt. Vesuvio and the terroir reflects that with volcanic and sandy soils.  The wines go by the name Lacryma Christi which translates to the Tears of Christ.

I don't know what varietals were used for the wine we enjoyed but it poured a deep red, nearly violet, and had a little bit of  spicy notes along with the fruit.  It was soft and medium bodied and paired very well with the Meatballs I made, adapted from a recipe found at Food Network.

Hope to see you at Twitter chat later this morning.  Until then Stay Home/Stay Safe/Stay Well.



#beef, #pork, #meatballs, #tomatoes,
Entrees, Beef, Pork, Meatballs
Italian
Yield: 4 servings
Author:

Polpette (Italian Meatballs)

Polpette (Italian Meatballs)

These meatballs are a combination of beef and pork mixed with bread crumbs and grated parmesan cheese and then stuffed with fresh mozzarella.
Prep time: 25 MCook time: 1 hourTotal time: 1 H & 25 M

Ingredients:

  • 2/3 c. fresh bread crumbs (2 slices of bread)
  • 1 c. milk
  • handful of parsley leaves, chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 4 oz. ground beef
  • 4 oz. ground pork
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/4 c. grated parmesan cheese
  • salt and pepper, to taste 
  • several bocconcini  (small mozzarella balls, halved or quartered)
  • Panko bread crumbs for coating
  • 1/4 c + 1 T. olive oil, divided
  • 2 (14 oz) cans petite diced tomatoes
  • 1/4 c. diced onion
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 2 t. Italian Herb Seasoning
  • 8 oz. cooked pasta for serving, if desired

Instructions:

  1. Put the fresh bread crumbs into a bowl with the milk and let soak.
  2. Place the beef and pork into a large bowl with the garlic and parsley.  Squeeze the milk out of the bread and add it to the bowl.  Add the eggs, salt, pepper and grated cheese.  Using clean hands, mix the ingredients until well combined.  Shape into meatballs using about 1/4 c. mixture for each.  Push a piece of the Mozzarella into the center of the meatball, and form again to cover.  
  3. Heat the 1/4 c. olive oil in a large skillet over med high heat.  When hot coat each meatball with the panko and fry for about 5 minutes per side until golden brown and crusted.  Remove to a plate and set aside.
  4. Add the onions and garlic to the skillet along with the Tablespoon of olive oil, if needed.  Cook, stirring up any browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pan until the onions are translucent and the mixture is fragrant.  Add the tomatoes, Italian Herb Seasoning and salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil, mashing the tomatoes slightly to thicken the sauce.  
  5. Add the Meatballs to the sauce, reduce to a simmer, cover and cook until the meatballs are cooked through and the sauce is reduced by half, about 45 minutes.
  6. Serve over pasta if desired.

Notes:

Adapted from a recipe found at Food Network
Calories
516.59
Fat (grams)
22.83
Sat. Fat (grams)
8.10
Carbs (grams)
45.88
Fiber (grams)
4.75
Net carbs
41.14
Sugar (grams)
5.27
Protein (grams)
31.21
Sodium (milligrams)
721.10
Cholesterol (grams)
159.12
Created using The Recipes Generator



18 comments:

  1. I have never met a meatball I didn't love. Yours look delicious. And that wine?!? It's always a favorite. Can't wait to track down another bottle soon. Cin cin, Wendy.

    ReplyDelete
  2. My Italian-American husband gave a big thumbs-up to your polpette! They look delicious and will probably be on our menu within a few days. Cheers Wendy!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wendy - your polpette did look delicious and that wine is always a charmer. Glad you found something new to you and to your liking.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Spaghetti and meatballs with an Italian red - what could be better! Would love a seat at your table.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Wow, mozzarella in the meatballs, I like it!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Great looking meatballs! Have you ever enjoyed them without pasta? It's more true to Campania. But my wife refuses meatballs without pasta!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We sometimes have meatball sandwiches but I have never had them without some kind of addition.

      Delete
  7. I wrote about Lacryma Christi but didnt get my hands on any bottles. Was nice to read yours. Salute!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Ouuu, we love polpette. Looks like dinner and wine was a treat at your house on May 10th! Overall as far as pairing, would you do it again? (Imagine yes ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Great that you could find a Terredora wine...they are from the same family as Mastroberardino...but they split the properties some years ago.

    ReplyDelete

I enjoy getting comments and feedback from my audience. Please let me know what you think, keeping in mind that we are all entitled to our own beliefs and opinions. I am happy to hear yours as long as they are stated nicely.