This traditional style Spaghetti con polpette (Spaghetti with meatballs) is a must-try winter recipe from Gourmet Traveller. Pair it with our 2018 Cosa Nostra Il Capo, a blend of Nero D’Avola (82%) and Negroamaro (18%), two varieties that work well together. The negroamaro softens the wine a little and creates a slightly different fruit profile. It still has the lovely red fruits you’d expect from a Nero. Quite savoury and with three years’ bottle age, it’s drinking really well at the moment. ~ Adrian
Spaghetti con Polpette w/ 2018 Cosa Nostra ‘Il Capo’
Spaghetti con polpette (Spaghetti with meatballs)
Serves 8
30 minutes preparation
1 hour 30 minutes cooking
INGREDIENTS
- 750 gm dried spaghetti
- 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- To serve: torn basil leaves
Sugo
- 1½ tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 80 ml red wine
- 1.4 litres tomato passata
- 2 each fresh bay leaves and thyme sprigs
Polpette
- 800 gm minced veal
- 200 gm minced pork
- 60 gm pine nuts, toasted
- 50 gm each parmesan and pecorino, finely grated, plus extra to serve
- 50 gm mild pancetta, finely chopped
- ¼ cup fine soft white breadcrumbs
- 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tbsp each coarsely chopped parsley and oregano
- 2 tsp each coarsely chopped rosemary and thyme
- 2 tbsp olive oil
METHOD
- First up, open a bottle of 2018 Cosa Nostra ‘Il Capo’, pour a glass and turn the oven on to 190°C.
- For sugo, heat extra-virgin olive oil in a wide shallow saucepan over medium heat, add onion and sauté until starting to soften (5 minutes). Add garlic, sauté until very tender (10-12 minutes), add wine and cook until reduced by one-third (2-4 minutes). Add tomato passata and herbs, bring to the boil, season to taste and set aside.
- Meanwhile, for polpette, combine ingredients (except olive oil) in a bowl, season to taste and mix with your hands to combine well. Roll golf-ball-sized pieces of mixture in your hands until they start to feel elastic, and set balls aside. Heat olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan over high heat, add polpette in batches and turn occasionally until golden (2-4 minutes). Add to pan with sugo, season to taste, cover with a lid, transfer to oven and bake until polpette are cooked through and sauce is rich and thick (1 hour).
- Meanwhile, cook pasta in a large saucepan of boiling salted water until al dente (5-10 minutes). Drain, toss in extra-virgin olive oil and serve with polpette in sugo, scattered with basil leaves and extra parmesan and pecorino.
- Lastly, dig in and enjoy the lovely red fruits and savoury flavours of the Il Capo with the rich red-wine sauce and aromatic herbs.
Source: Gourmet Traveller
