red bean meatballs with spicy sauce

polpette di fagioli rossi in salsa piccante

TOTAL TIME: 45 minutes

MAKES: 6 servings

Most of the "meat" in this colorful meatball is actually red beans cooked with garlic and chile peppers. The beans get chopped and studded with crispy pancetta before being shaped, fried and served with a spicy sauce.

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Ingredients

1 cup vegetable broth
1/2 red bell pepper, cored and finely chopped
1/2 celery rib, cut into 1/4-inch dice
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 fresh chile peppers, preferably arbol
1 teaspoon tomato paste
1 garlic clove, peeled
Fine sea salt
7 ounces pancetta, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 15-ounce can red beans, well rinsed and drained (see Note)
1 large egg white
1/2 cup semolina flour
1 large whole egg
1/4 cup canola oil

Instructions

In a small saucepan combine vegetable broth, bell pepper, celery, 3 tablespoons olive oil, chile peppers, tomato paste, garlic and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Remove and discard garlic; remove sauce from heat.

Brown pancetta in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, about 8 minutes. Drain fat. In a food processor, pulse the beans until chopped; do not puree them into a paste. Transfer to a large bowl. Add pancetta, remaining tablespoon olive oil, egg white and 1/4 teaspoon salt; blend with your hands until just combined well (do not overmix). Form 1-tablespoon portions into 30 (1-inch) balls.

Put flour in a shallow bowl. Lightly beat whole egg in another shallow bowl. Dip 1 ball into egg, letting excess drip off, then dredge in flour to lightly coat. Transfer to prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining balls. Warm sauce over low heat.

In a large saucepan, heat canola oil over medium-high heat. Fry balls, in 2 batches, turning, until a dark golden crust has formed on the outside, about 3 minutes per batch. Serve with sauce.

Note: The description of the amount of beans called for has changed slightly from the print edition of this recipe; the beans should also be chopped and not pureed as originally directed.

April 2010

keywords:

appetizer, hors d'oeuvre, meatball, polpette, starter, red beans

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Comments [4] | Add your comment

This was voted down by my guests as a recipe not to be repeated. I gave a polpette party and asked each guest to make one of the 6 recipes in the Polpette article. We had a blast. Tablescape was sunflowers on a ground of various dried pasta. Favors were jars of burchetta.
Posted: April 25, 2010 11:05 by kgutcher
Dear joannesmart, Thank you for the clarification. I had the same problem as lewteag. And, I agree this tasted great. I finished the plated dish with a little french grey sea salt. I also think I used too big of a pan when frying so it took a little more canola oil in that step. I liked the recipe and will make it again.
Posted: April 11, 2010 17:16 by sdaviess
Dear lewteag: I am glad to hear the meatballs tasted great and sorry to hear you had some problems with the texture. We could have been more clear in the direction for pureeing the beans. The language in the recipe has now been changed to say to pulse the beans and to stop pulsing before they become a paste. Also, if you followed the recipe that was printed in the magazine, know that the amount of beans was increased slightly. I hope this helps when you next make these tasty meatballs. -- the editors
Posted: March 22, 2010 10:46 by joannesmart
I tried this recipe. It tasted great, but the beans became sticky and gooey after pureeing, consequently the meatballs were too big. What did I do wrong? Did I puree the beans too much? Did I use too much oil? Any feedback would be appreciated.
Posted: March 17, 2010 19:49 by lewteag