Meatballs with Mortadella and Pistachios

Here is a recipe for preparing delicious meatballs with mortadella and pistachios, a dish that combines typical Italian flavors in a format loved everywhere.

Ingredients

• 300 g of ground meat (beef or pork, according to preference)
• 100 g of mortadella, finely chopped
• 50 g of unsalted pistachios, coarsely chopped
• 1 egg
• Stale bread as needed
• Milk as needed (to soften the bread)
• 50 g of grated Parmesan cheese
• Salt and pepper as needed
• Breadcrumbs as needed (for breading)
• Oil for frying (preferably olive oil)

Preparation

1. Start by soaking the stale bread in milk until it becomes soft. Squeeze well to remove excess liquid and crumble it into a large bowl.

2. Add to the bowl the ground meat, chopped mortadella, pistachios, egg, and Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

3. Mix all the ingredients with your hands until you get a homogeneous mixture. If you find the mixture too soft to shape into meatballs, you can add some breadcrumbs to dry it out.

4. Form walnut-sized meatballs and roll them in breadcrumbs to coat them well.

5. In a frying pan, heat a generous amount of oil and fry the meatballs until they are golden and crispy on all sides.

6. Drain the meatballs on paper towels to remove excess oil.

Your meatballs with mortadella and pistachios are ready to be served! You can enjoy them either hot or at room temperature and they are perfect both as a main course and as finger food during an aperitif.

Curiosity

Mortadella is one of the most well-known and appreciated Italian sausages in the world. Its origins are ancient, and it is believed that the name derives from the Roman word “myrtatum” (pork seasoned with myrtle), although the use of pistachios in mortadella is a zesty modern addition, typical of higher quality mortadella. In these meatballs, mortadella and pistachios come together to create a dish with a rich and unique flavor.