Polpette di Pesce Spada
Polpette di Pesce Spada
Swordfish Balls
The islands are all about balls: dough balls, meat balls, eggplant balls, fish balls. Fish balls aren’t unique to Italy—they’re common in Southeast Asian cuisines—but the Italian version doesn’t have the snap that one floating in pho might. These are actually quite flaky, just bits of fish bound loosely with bread crumbs and egg, then sautéed. They are popular at seaside trattorias, where they are made from the scraps from butchering fish like swordfish or tuna; this recipe calls for a whole piece of swordfish, though you could certainly use any fish scraps you have, or substitute tuna for swordfish to make polpetle di tonno.
Ingredients (10)
Ingredients (10)
Instructions
Place the swordfish (1 ½ lb) in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until roughly chopped. Alternatively, shred with two forks into pea-size pieces. Season with salt.
Combine the swordfish, bread crumbs (1 cup), caciocavallo (½ cup), parsley (¼ cup), eggs (2 large), pine nuts (¼ cup), and currants (¼ cup) in a large bowl. Season with salt and mix well with a fork or spoon. The mixture should be tacky.
Form the mixture into balls roughly the size of walnuts and set aside on a large plate. (You can dampen your hands with water to keep the mixture from sticking.)
Before balling the whole fish mixture, do a tester to check for seasoning. Cook a single ball in olive oil, then taste and adjust the salt accordingly.
Heat the olive oil (¼ cup) in a large high-sided pan over medium heat.
When the oil begins to shimmer, add the fish balls and cook, turning them so they brown all over, for 5 to 6 minutes.
Add the tomatoes (1 15-oz can). Cover and cook, turning the swordfish balls occasionally, until the sauce loses its raw flavor, 10 minutes more, then serve.
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