Lisa of Goldsmith street Dublin 7 made these amazing polpettini last week. Sadly the battery was dead on my camera when we were at hers, so I found a similar recipe online and made a Brooklyn batch. This recipe is by Nigel Slater. We made them with ground turkey which worked really well too. I also used porcini mushroom broth instead of chicken which was great.
Pork and lemon meatballs
70g fresh white breadcrumbs
500g pork
a lemon
a large handful of parsley leaves, chopped
about 6 bushy sprigs of thyme
2 tbsp grated Parmesan
8 anchovy fillets, chopped
to cook:
2 tbsp olive oil
40g butter
200ml chicken stock
Put the breadcrumbs and pork into a mixing bowl. Grate the lemon and add the zest to the pork, then halve and squeeze the lemon. Add the lemon juice to the pork with the parsley and the thyme leaves stripped from their stems. Tip in the Parmesan then the anchovy fillets. Season the mixture with a little salt, then more generously with black pepper. Mix thoroughly.
Make about 18 small balls of the mixture, using a generously heaped tablespoon of pork for each one. I shape them into a rough ball, flatten them slightly, then put each one on to a floured baking sheet.
Warm the oil and butter in a heavy-based non-stick pan. Roll the patties lightly in the flour then fry them, about eight at a time, for 4-5 minutes until they are crisply golden on each side. Lower the heat and leave to cook through to the middle - a matter of 6-8 minutes more. I tend to turn them no more than once or twice during cooking so they develop a crisp, slightly sticky exterior.
Tip the fat, or at least most of it, from the pan, then pour in the chicken stock. Leave to bubble for a good 2 or 3 minutes, scraping up and stirring in any pan stickings. Let the stock bubble down a bit, then divide the patties between four plates and spoon over the juices from the pan.
