Russ Parson’s Fennel Polpette–Not Another Meatball!

Last Friday, we invited a dear friend who will soon be leaving Santa Cruz to come to dinner. I asked what special dish I could make for him and he said, “Spaghetti.” My mind whizzed to “Straw and Hay” (about which,  one of these days), and then I heard him mention to someone (we were at the gym) the meatballs he’d recently had that were fantastic. Ok. I’ll make meatballs to go with the spaghetti. Except I hated the idea of making diddly meatballs…I’d made them once in my entire culinary life.

While I think nothing of fussing with piles of fragile sheets of pastry…cutting out a zillion Christmas cookies…composing trayfuls of elegant hors d’oeuvres….I can’t say why but I’ve resisted turning out meatballs. But then I thought, Heck, the Swedes do it…the Italians do it…the Greeks do it…the Germans do it…time for me to do it, too.

Searching for the best recipe, I saw several online that sounded promising, but then I thought, “Oh yes, Russ will have the best recipe!”

My cherished friend Russ Parsons—incomparable former Food Editor of The Los Angeles Times--shepherded my column, “Garden Fresh,” for a couple of heavenly years. Hurray! up came a recipe online* and I whooped when I saw it was with fennel. I’d serendipitously just come from the market with a fresh jar of fennel seeds. I regard fennel, both the bulb and seeds, as a rich and unique flavor too little considered.

Russ’s inspiration for the dish came from…well, listen to him:

“I’m standing on a bluff overlooking the ocean, soaking up the afternoon sunshine. It’s that delicious warm part of a fall day when the chill of the morning fog has burned off but before it can creep back for the evening. Below me, the sea cracks against a rocky beach. Catalina looks like it’s about a block away. In my hand, I hold a brown paper bag full of just-picked fennel pods. Their warm perfume mingles with the fresh salt air. And all I can think about is dinner.”

Russ chose to use his wild seeds to flavor meatballs: polpette…an Italian rendition, smaller and more delicate than the robust plops Americans envision when they hear the word meatball.

No longer living by the Pacific, Russ doesn’t know I’m taking advantage of our friendship and presenting his recipe…albeit with a few Thompson emendations, duly noted. I hope he won’t mind.

Polpette are made with a mix of meats, and Russ calls for veal and pork. These days, ground turkey is a fine substitute for ground veal, and one day I’ll do that. But in this case I’d already bought grass-fed lean ground beef** and didn’t want to go to the market again. Because I knew I’d be making the recipe for appreciators, I doubled it. Third change, Russ finishes cooking the meatballs in a rich creation of tomatoes, onions, garlic, and white wine, lovely. But I was pressed for time and decided to resort to our favorite bottled pasta sauce (Rao’s Homemade Marinara) for enrobing the meatballs and spaghetti. That worked indeed…next time Russ’s richness… Yes! I will indeed make these meatballs again…I’m over my silly phobia…

Russ asks us not to use commercial fennel seeds in the recipe. Heady notion, if only we all lived seaside… But preserved by a quality spice purveyor and still freshly fragrant, I find boughten seeds delicious–and who knows they weren’t gathered in the wild?

By the way, to my surprise, it took less than twenty minutes to form fifty-two meatballs. I had a round-bowl coffee scoop that measured a scant two-tablespoons, and it scooped out meat that was the desired large-walnut size (about one inch).

The recipe’s subtitle comes from my meatball-loving husband. At the end of cooking when I asked him to taste one, Bill said, “Great. Not another meatball!” A splendid dish to make for friends these increasingly chilly days.

 Russ Parson’s Fennel Polpette–Not Another Meatball!
About 52 Meatballs, 6 servings

1 pound ground 95%-lean grass-fed beef
1 pound ground 95%-lean pork
½ cup fine fresh breadcrumbs (I whizzed 2-day-old crustless sourdough bread)
2 tablespoons minced onion
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon fennel seeds (fresh, fragrant), or more to taste
1 teaspoon coarse (I use Maldon) salt
2 eggs, beaten to blend
½ cup avocado oil or extra virgin olive oil

To serve with spaghetti:
16 ounces dried spaghetti, preferably Italian-made
32 ounces Marinara sauce
(1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes, preferably fire-roasted, just in case)
Leafy fronds from 1 fennel bulb, a handful chopped
1-1/2 – 2 cups (or to taste) Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, freshly grated

In a big bowl, use your hands to thoroughly blend beef and pork. Thoroughly blend in breadcrumbs, onions, seeds, and salt. Add the eggs then work with your hands until the mixture is homogenous. Cook an inch-size bit in a dry skillet then taste for salt and fennel.

Using a scant 2-tablespoons portion, use dampened hands to roll into walnut-size balls, placing each on a plate or tray. (This may be done in advance, the meat covered and refrigerated, then returned to room temperature a long hour before cooking.)

Sauté by the following method, using one large skillet in relays or two skillets simultaneously:

Ideally using a non-stick skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat until it sizzles when a bit of meat is added. Place meatballs in the pan—you can crowd them—and cook until browned on one side, 2 to 3 minutes. Shake the skillet to release balls, then use a narrow spatula or wooden spoon to gently nudge them over to brown on their other sides. Shake the skillet frequently to even the browning, then turn balls as needed to brown on all sides. Careful not to overcook.

Test a couple of balls with a meat thermometer: when it registers 145 degrees, remove the balls to a bowl and cover. The meat can hold an hour or so.

To serve, start the pasta water boiling. While warming the marinara sauce in your largest casserole (around 6 quarts) over medium heat, boil the spaghetti per package directions until al dente (usually around 10 minutes). When the sauce begins to simmer, stir, then gently drop in the meatballs. Use a wooden spoon to blanket them all in sauce. Lift the cooked spaghetti into the sauce and GENTLY stir to mix pasta, balls, and sauce…maybe ladling in a little pasta cooking water to loosen and increase the sauce. If you’d like more sauce, gently blend in the can of diced tomatoes. Cover and keep over low heat until the sauce bubbles.

NB: It’s always recommended to let cooked pasta revel in its sauce for five or so minutes before serving, allowing the paste to finish cooking and absorb the sauce’s flavors…I find this time helpful for pulling the bread from the oven, getting the cheese on the table, the wine corked, and inviting everyone to sit down!

Now should you have a fresh bulb of fennel on hand, chop some of its fronds and sprinkle over the top of your scrumptious presentation. If no fennel fronds, no one will miss them.

Pass the grated cheese…then lift your glasses to Russ Parsons!

*https://www.latimes.com/recipe/fennel-polpette; published October 30, 2002
**I don’t as a rule buy beef any more…the raising of cattle is harmful to the planet. But this was a special occasion and I wanted these treats to be their richest best…no question it called for delicious beef. So I made an exception to my rule.