Bread Meatballs

Bread meatballs are a delicious dish and a great way to use up leftover bread. Here is a simple Italian recipe for tasty bread meatballs.

Ingredients

• 200 g of stale bread
• 100 ml of milk
• 1 egg
• 50 g of grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons of chopped parsley
• 1 clove of garlic
• Salt, to taste
• Pepper, to taste
• Oil for frying or baking, depending on preference

Preparation

1. Begin by cutting the stale bread into pieces and place it in a large bowl.
2. Warm the milk and pour it over the bread to soften it. Allow the bread to absorb the milk for about 10-15 minutes.
3. In the meantime, finely chop the parsley and crush the garlic clove.
4. Once the bread has absorbed the milk, add the egg, Parmesan, chopped parsley, garlic, salt, and pepper to the mixture.
5. Knead with your hands until the mixture is homogeneous. If the dough is too wet, you can add some breadcrumbs to dry it out.
6. Shape the mixture into walnut-sized meatballs and flatten them slightly.
7. You can choose to cook them in two ways: fry them in plenty of oil until golden or bake them in the oven at 200°C for about 20-25 minutes until browned, for a lighter version.
8. Drain them on paper towels if fried to remove excess oil.

Bread meatballs can be served both hot and cold and are perfect as an appetizer or as a main course, accompanied by a fresh salad or a side dish of your choice.

Curiosity

The recipe for the bread meatballs is typical of Italian peasant cooking, which has always had the talent to transform simple or leftover ingredients into delicious and substantial dishes. This dish shows how the concept of “zero waste” is rooted in Italian culinary tradition, where stale bread always finds a way to be valued.