One of the most unique things that separates Italian cuisine from other cooking categories is the fact that there’s always something new to learn about it. Even after you think that you’ve become a master of all things Italian food, a new recipe springs up to prove you wrong! If you’ve looked over Bricco’s menu, you’ll likely have seen many things you don’t recognize. As a part of our Caesar salad appetizer, we add some crispy ricotta polpette to enhance it. If you’re unfamiliar with polpette, we’ll explain everything you need to know about it below!
Defining Polpette
If you look up the word polpette in an Italian dictionary, you’ll see that it roughly translates to “meatball” in English. While polpette is technically meatballs, it doesn’t use the same recipe as a traditional meatball. Most of the base recipe contains meat, but it’s mixed with various vegetables and other ingredients. In general, you can expect to find ground beef, breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, and various spices in your polpette. The main goal with polpette is to utilize the leftovers from a prior meal. Italians are known not to be wasteful with their cooking, and polpette was born under these circumstances.
Types of Polpette
Those that have looked at our menu before are already familiar with some types of polpette. The polpette we prepare contains ricotta cheese (if that wasn’t obvious), but several other types are just as delicious, depending on what you’re craving. Some noteworthy examples include:
- Fish-Based Polpette: Fish-based polpette, or polpette di pesce, aims to take advantage of popular seafood leftovers in an enticing blend. The most popular seafood to use for this polpette is any type of white fish, as they are easier to prepare than that shellfish.
- Meatless Polpette: Just because polpette is based on meatballs doesn’t mean they have to contain meat! Meatless polpette tends to utilize bread more than anything else. Any type of Italian bread will do for this recipe, but be mindful of what you include with each type – you don’t want to mix flavors that don’t blend well!
- Vegetarian Polpette: As the name implies, this type of polpette is also void of meat. Leafy greens like spinach are popular additions to this dish, but you can also use eggplant – similar to how chicken parmesan and eggplant parmesan are variants of each other!
Polpette and Italian Cuisine at Bricco
The Italian meal has many components and courses, but there’s one thing that all of these pieces have in common. Bricco is the best place to go for them all! Our menu is carefully populated with some of the most noteworthy Italian appetizers, entrees, and cocktails to replicate the Italian dining experience perfectly. See what makes us stand out from the other North End options by making a reservation with us today!