Polpette al sugo — beef meatballs in tomato sauce

Method

1. If the bread is fresh, dice the 50 g inner bread and dry for 5 minutes in the oven at 150°C or in a toaster. Crumble into a mixing bowl with 60 g water, leave to soak for 5 minutes, then mash with a fork into a soft paste with no dry pieces. Meanwhile, chop the parsley, finely grate one garlic clove and the quarter onion, and crush the tomatoes by hand in a bowl with their juice.
2. Add the cold beef, egg, parsley, grated garlic and onion, 4–5 strokes of nutmeg, 5 g salt (1 level tsp) and pepper to the bread. Mix with your fingertips for 30–45 seconds, just to distribute the ingredients; overworking firms up the meatballs. With damp hands, shape 12 balls of about 40 g and 4 cm across, and place on a plate.
3. Heat 30 g oil (3 tbsp) in a 28 cm sauté pan over a medium-high heat, coating the base in a continuous film. Add the meatballs in a single layer and leave undisturbed for 2 minutes; they release by themselves once a crust forms. Turn gently and brown for 5–6 minutes in total, leaving them raw inside. Set aside on a clean plate without discarding the browned cooking juices.
4. Lower the heat to medium-low. Add 15 g oil (1 1/2 tbsp) and the crushed garlic clove, stirring for 30 seconds without colouring. Add the crushed tomatoes, 60 g water used to rinse the tins, 4 g salt (3/4 tsp) and 3 torn basil leaves, then scrape up the browned bits. Simmer uncovered for 15 minutes, stirring two or three times, until the tomato begins to thicken and the browned bits dissolve. Taste: the sauce should be well seasoned, as it seasons the bread; adjust salt if needed.
5. Return the meatballs and their juices to the sauce and spoon it over them. Cover with a small gap and cook gently for 18–20 minutes, turning once halfway through. The sauce should bubble gently, not boil hard. A cut meatball should have no raw centre; a thermometer should read at least 71°C in the middle. If the sauce thickens too much or starts to catch, add 50 g hot water and shake the pan. The finished sauce should coat a spoon without becoming a paste.
6. Tear the remaining basil into the sauce, turn off the heat and rest covered for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, cut the 160 g bread into 1.5 cm slices and toast for 2–3 minutes in a toaster or under the oven grill. Rub while hot with the cut garlic cloves and drizzle with the 10 g uncooked oil. Serve six meatballs per person, generously coated in sauce, with the toast alongside for mopping up.