Polpettine di Rape e Ricotta al Pomodoro Fresco – A Traditional Italian Recipe

Spinach and ricotta balls with fresh tomato salsa

The origins of Polpettine di Rape e Ricotta al Pomodoro Fresco can be traced back to the southern regions of Italy, where turnip greens (also known as “rape” in Italian) are a common ingredient in traditional cuisine. These greens are prized for their bitter flavour and are frequently used in soups, stews, and meatballs.

Ingredients (serves 4)

For the tomato and basil sauce: refer to our recipe!

For the spinach and ricotta balls:

• 400 g cooked spinach
• 200 g ricotta
• 2 eggs
• grated parmesan cheese
• a garlic clove
• parsley
• breadcrumbs
• handmade breadcrumbs
• olive oil
• salt and peppercorns

Preparation

Finely chop the garlic and parsley together. Place a handful of the roughly broken up breadcrumbs to soak in either water of milk. Chop the rape and mix with the ricotta, the eggs and a couple of teaspoons of parmesan, salt and pepper. Squeeze out the bread and mix this in also. Mix all of the ingredients well and then form small balls with your hands, roughly the size of an egg. They can be round or oval in shape. Rolls the balls in the fine breadcrumbs and fry them in a sauce pan with some the preheated olive oil. Finish the cooking with some tomato and basil sauce.

Spinach and ricotta balls with fresh tomato salsa The origins of Polpettine di Rape e Ricotta al Pomodoro Fresco can be traced back to the southern regions of Italy, where turnip greens (also known as “rape” in Italian) are a common ingredient in traditional cuisine. These greens are prized for…

Spinach and ricotta balls with fresh tomato salsa The origins of Polpettine di Rape e Ricotta al Pomodoro Fresco can be traced back to the southern regions of Italy, where turnip greens (also known as “rape” in Italian) are a common ingredient in traditional cuisine. These greens are prized for…