Matteo’s Recipes - Polpette al Sugo (Tulum Style)

In Rome my grandmother made meatballs that could calm any storm. Soft. Slow-cooked. Swimming in tomato. They were a lesson in patience. In Mexico the land teaches a different lesson. Add heat. Add herbs that taste of the jungle. Add a little danger.

So I make my grandmother’s polpette and let Mexico speak through them. A touch of jalapeño. A handful of cilantro. A tomato sauce made heavy with onion and a whisper of chile ancho. The result is familiar but wilder. Like hearing an old song sung by a new lover.

Recipe (Serves 4)

Ingredients – Polpette

• 500 g ground beef

• 200 g ground pork

• 1 egg

• 60 g brioche cut into small pieces

• 50 ml milk

• 1 jalapeño, minced

• 2 garlic cloves, minced

• 10 g cilantro, chopped

• 6 g salt

• 3 g black pepper

Ingredients – Sugo

• 500 g crushed tomatoes

• 1 white onion, diced

• 2 garlic cloves, sliced

• 1 ancho chile, seeded and torn

• 20 ml olive oil

• 5 g salt

Method

1. Soak brioche pieces in milk.

2. Mix meats, egg, jalapeño, garlic, cilantro, salt and pepper. Form 12 meatballs.

3. Brown meatballs in oil. Remove.

4. In same pan sauté onion, garlic and ancho until soft.

5. Add tomatoes and salt. Simmer 10 minutes.

6. Return meatballs and cook 20 more minutes until tender.