Tag: Balls

Recipe Salmon balls with coriander – Italian Cuisine

Ingredients

300 g fresh salmon flesh
300 g white fish pulp (cod, sea bass)
2 slices of bread soaked in milk
coriander powder
2 heads of lettuce
shallot
butter
lemon
flour
Worcester sauce
salt
pepper

Duration: 35 min

Level: Middle

Dose: 4 people

To prepare the salmon balls with coriander, hand the cutter (food processor) the salmon flesh together with a slice of soaked and squeezed bread, salt, pepper and half a teaspoon of coriander; mix the mixture well then divide it into small portions and form round meatballs. Then pass the white fish flesh together with the second slice of bread, salt, pepper, coriander and make the second mixture with as many balls. Pass them all, white and pink, in a veil of flour, then fry them in a froth of butter and, at the end of cooking, add a few drops of Worcester, the juice of half a lemon and the grated peel of the same; keep them warm. Peel the heads of lettuce, cut them lengthwise into four parts and let them simmer, slowly, in the covered pan, with a chopped shallot, a knob of butter, salt, pepper; after about 8 minutes of cooking, transfer the lettuces to the serving dish, place the fish balls on top, sprinkle them with the bottom of the lettuces and serve immediately.

Takoyaki, street food octopus balls go crazy in Osaka. Now also in Italy – Italian Cuisine

In Osaka there is a boom in takoyaki, local street food spread all over Japan which consists of meatballs with octopus and mayonnaise and which is now also conquering Italy

In the world there are cities where local street food is deeply rooted in people's daily lives, representing an essential part of the gastronomic and traditional culture. An example of this is Osaka, in Japan, whose local specialty consists of a street food called takoyaki, ubiquitous in every corner of the city. This dish, famous and loved in the rest of the country and increasingly in vogue abroad, consists of delicious meatballs made with batter and octopus, served hot on practical paper boats.

Takoyaki, Osaka street food and one of the most loved in Japan

In the homeland of this cheap and delicious street food there are hundreds of specialized banquets and takeaways, where you can watch the preparation ritual, a regular attraction for the Japanese and a must for tourists. Takoyaki are small and soft balls of batter based on flour, water, yeast and eggs to which they are added inside during cooking boiled octopus pieces (tako), fresh onion slices, red ginger (shoga) pickle, tempura scraps (tenkasu) which give crispness. Meatballs are cooked by street vendors on large plates and turned skillfully and quickly with chopsticks; this procedure allows you to prepare a large number of meatballs in a short time. Take away takoyaki should be crunchy on the outside or soft inside and seasoned with Japanese mayonnaise (made with egg yolks and rice vinegar) and a dense and sweetish brown sauce called takoyaki sauce, similar to Worcestershire, made with soy sauce, fruit and sugar, and finally covered with green algae anori powder and flakes of dried bonito. In Osaka or in other parts of Japan it is possible to find seals of different types, including a typical Japanese sauce with soy and citrus, the goma-give sauce based on vinegar and sesame, sardine and oyster extracts and other ingredients.

The practical paper trays in which they are served usually contain 6 or 10 meatballs, which allows consumers to share them with friends and relatives, but also to buy them from different stalls. This delicious street food, besides being the pride of the city of Osaka, is one of the most loved in all of Japan.
But the takoyaki are not only a popular street food, to be eaten rigorously with chopsticks and to be consumed with beer or other alcoholic drinks, in fact they can be bought pre-cooked and frozen, ready to be heated at home in the microwave or during a picnic with a camping stove, as can be ordered in many restaurants in the country where they are usually served with a side dish of white rice.

The takoyaki to conquer the rest of the world

Given the goodness and simplicity of preparation of these meatballs, as well as their characteristic ingredients and flavors typical of the Rising Sun, it is not surprising that they are widespread in the rest of the world, either as street food or as a specialty of Japanese restaurants. In Italy, takoyaki have only recently appeared, with the opening of two small specialized shops a Milan it's at turin where the meatballs are cooked express on the spot according to the traditional recipe and served with Japanese soft drinks in cans including beer or sake. However, these tasty oriental meatballs are also available in other Japanese sushi bars and restaurants throughout the area.

takoyaki

Photo: takoyaki street food osaka_flickr_ankur p.jpg
Photo: takoyaki osaka polpette polpo_flickr_leng cheng.jpg

Recipe Potato balls with lime sauce – Italian Cuisine

Ingredients

650 g spinach leaves
600 g white-paste potatoes
80 g breadcrumbs
60 g pistachio flour
2 pcs eggs
1 pcs shallots
half lime
wasabi paste
seed oil
extra virgin olive oil
fine salt and flakes

Duration: 1 h 20 min

Level: Easy

Dose: 50 pieces

For the recipe of potato balls with lime sauce, boil the whole potatoes with the peel for about 35 minutes; peel them, mash them and mix them with the breadcrumbs, 1 egg and a pinch of salt. Chop the shallot and brown it in a pan with 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil for a couple of minutes; add the chopped spinach and cook for 7-8 minutes; Drain them from the cooking water, let them cool and mix them with the potato mixture, keeping aside 20. Mold the mixture into round meatballs of 15 g each: you will get about fifty. Pass them in the pistachio flour and fry them in abundant hot oil for about 1 minute and 30 seconds; drain them on kitchen paper. Prepare a sauce by blending the spinach kept aside with  egg, a pinch of salt, the juice of half a lime and 1 teaspoon of wasabi paste, adding 130 g of seed oil. Season the meatballs with salt flakes and serve with the sauce.