Two Kitchens: Family Recipes from Sicily and Rome by Rachel Roddy, the award-winning Guardian Cook columnist and winner of the Andre Simon and Guild of Food Writers' awards, delivers a glorious book highlighting the food that comes from her two kitchens - one in Sicily and the other in Rome. (Because we index every recipe from the Guardian Cook, you can add any of Rachel's 137 recipes from there to your Bookshelf as well.) 

Rachel's first title Five Quarters (also published as My Kitchen in Rome) shares the story of her love affair with Italy that blossomed when first visiting the neighborhood of Testaccio, the wedge-shaped quarter of Rome that centers around the old slaughterhouse and the bustling food market. With that visit began a new life. In Five Quarters she journals a year in her small Italian kitchen, shopping, cooking, eating, and writing. It sounds like a dream, right?

In her latest book, Two Kitchens, Rachel's beautiful writing, stunning photographs and scrumptious recipes makes this title a must have. Simon Hopkinson provides a quote on the front of this book "I want to live under Rachel's kitchen table. There are very, very few who possess such a supremely uncluttered culinary voice as hers." I don't want to live under her table - I want to stand next to her, make a lovely meal and sit at her table to soak in her culinary wisdom. Since this is unlikely to happen, I will take the next best thing - cooking her recipes and enjoying her stories as if at her table. 

I have made four recipes from Two Kitchens and my family, guests and I loved them all. Those recipes were: Meatballs in white sauce (Polpette in bianco) - was my favorite and we are sharing that recipe with you today, Spaghetti with garlic, oil and lemon (Spaghetti aglio, olio al limone), Potato and aubergine cake (Gattò di patate e melanzane, and Sausages with grapes and red onions (Salsiccia all'uva e cipolla). The only suggestion I would do next time is to add additional seasoning to the potato dish - it was great but I would love it a bit more with a little onion or garlic in the mix. We had guests over when I made the meatballs and potato cake and they used some of the sauce from the meatballs on the potatoes - there were raves all around. 

If you remotely enjoy real Italian cooking, you need Rachel Roddy in your library. If you remotely enjoy beautiful writing, you need Rachel Roddy in your library. If you remotely enjoy beautiful photography - well you get the picture.  Her style of cooking is what has transformed me into an Italian food lover. 

Rachel and her publisher, Headline, are sharing the Meatballs in White Wine Sauce with us today. These may be my favorite meatballs ever - something about the sauce does it - almost a piccata like flavor. Headline is also offering three copies of this title to our members in the UK (see giveaway below).

Polpette in bianco (Meatballs in white sauce)
Add this recipe to your bookshelf (click the blue +Bookshelf button).


 Serves 6

250g minced beef
350g minced pork
75g soft fresh breadcrumbs
75g Parmesan, grated
1 heaped tablespoon finely
chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 eggs
fine breadcrumbs, for rolling
6 tablespoons extra-virgin
olive oil
2 garlic cloves
200ml white wine (you may
need a little more)
salt and freshly ground
black pepper

A friend calls it the 'blessed curse of mamma's meatballs'. The meatballs are, to the person describing them, the best, their taste inimitable; just the thought of eating them is to be transported home. Italians take this idea to quite an extraordinary level, which I have learned to appreciate, love even, despite being English. The curse is that no meatballs will ever come close, even those made by other relatives. Vincenzo's family have proved this. Uncle Liborio, who is a chef and technically a much better cook than his mother, Sara, has made meatballs with meat from the same butcher, breadcrumbs from the same bakery, the same pan and water, and standing on the same patch of floor in front of the stove. The meatballs were good, but not Sara's, and therefore disappointing. The other part of the curse is that we all have to hear about everyone else's blessed meatballs.

This recipe is for meatballs in white (bianco) as opposed to red (rosso), i.e. tomato, sauce - but you could simmer them in tomato sauce if you wanted to. There is a moment of stove-top alchemy when the escaped breadcrumbs, meat juices, wine and olive oil come together into a thickish gravy that clings to the meatballs.  Served on a wide platter with the gravy poured over the top and a handful of parsley, they make for a pleasing and, due to their pop-in-the-mouth size, irresistible dish. Potatoes and greens (see page 100) or mashed potatoes make good partners.  

Knead together the meat, breadcrumbs, Parmesan, parsley (reserving a little for later), eggs, a generous pinch of salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Work the mixture, kneading and then squeezing the ingredients together into a soft, consistent mass.

Pour more breadcrumbs on to a plate. Take walnut-sized balls of the meat mixture and roll them firmly between your palms into small, neat balls. Roll the balls in breadcrumbs and sit them on a clean board or plate.  

Warm the olive oil in a large, deep frying pan. Crush the garlic cloves with the back of a knife so that they split but remain whole and add them to the pan. Fry gently until golden and fragrant, which should take a minute or so. Remove the garlic and add the meatballs. Fry the meatballs, increasing the heat a little and moving them around until they are brown on all sides.  This will take about 6 minutes.  

Add the wine, which will sizzle vigorously, and a good pinch of salt. Continue to cook the meatballs, nudging them around.  As the wine reduces into a thickish gravy, scrape it down from the sides of the pan and keep the meatballs moving so they cook evenly. You may need to add more wine. After about 5 minutes, taste a meatball to see how it is cooking. You may need to cook them a little longer; you may not. Adjust the seasoning if necessary and stir again.  Once cooked, turn the meatballs on to a warm platter, pour over the pan gravy and sprinkle over a little parsley to serve.

 

GIVEAWAY

Headline Books is offering three copies of this title to our EYB Members in the UK only and Eat Your Books is offering one copy worldwide. One of the entry options is to answer the following question in the comments section of this blog post.

Which recipe in the index would you like to try first?

Please note that you must be logged into the Rafflecopter contest before posting or your entry won't be counted. Please be sure to check your spam filters to make sure you receive our email notifications. Prizes can take up to 6 weeks to arrive from the publishers. If you are not already a Member, you can join at no cost. The contest ends at midnight on September 19, 2017.