Oh Spring, Where Art Thou?

The cool and wet Sydney weather, and a massive case of jet lag, inspired me to make this dish for lunch today.

It is very simple to make, so even the foggiest, travel-stricken mind can successfully attempt to work this straight-forward combination of ingredients out.

It is also delicious to eat, preferably on the couch, snuggled up under a furry blanket, close to you favourite person.

First off, place 3 slices of stale bread, crust removed, in a food processor along with 80 gr of parmesan cheese in chunks, a handful of parsley, leaves and stalks. Blitz until combined, then pour mix onto a large metal bowl and add 150 gr of full-fat ricotta (life’s too short for low-fat anything, really), 400 gr of beef mince, 1 egg, salt and pepper. Amalgamate using your hands until all the ingredients are nicely mixed together.

Cover the bowl with cling wrap and rest in the fridge for half an hour.

Shape your meatballs the size of large walnuts using wet hands, dust them with a little flour.

Make a soffritto with  1 chopped up onion, 1 small,diced carrot and two cloves of garlic ( simply bash them with the back of your hand and leave the skin on) and pan fry with two tablespoons of EVOO for a few minutes, until fragrant. Add the meatballs and brown them gently in the soffritto. Deglaze the pan with half a glass of dry white wine and allow for the alcohol to evaporate, then add two ladlefuls of vegetable stock and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes.

Place your cooked meatballs on a serving dish, liquidize the cooking liquid and vegetables in a blender and pour over the meatballs.

Sprinkle with chopped parsley and lemon zest.

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