Polpette alla Fiorentina
I’m not typically a fan of meatballs… you probably know this by now.
But these Polpette alla Fiorentina (which is basically a fancy way of saying meatballs with spinach) are different. These are the real deal, man. They’re like DUDE FOOD material. They’re big, they’re bold, they’re beefy and they certainly pack a serious punch.
In fact, these meatballs are so totally loaded with filling and nutritious ingredients, they’re like a complete meal in themselves. No need for a side dish!
The meatballs alone hide a generous amount of cauliflower, which greatly contributes in keeping these monster-sized meatballs super moist, tender and extra juicy. The sauce, for its part, provides the diner with a copious serving of spinach and tomatoes.
And talk about FLAVOR! Believe me, this dish seriously deliver in that department, too!
As always when making meatballs, you will first want to place all your ingredients into a large mixing bowl and knead the meat with clean hands (at least they should be clean before you shove them in the bowl, that is) until fully combined.
Unfortunately, there’s no real way to avoid getting your hands dirty here, which might be one of the contributing factors to my not really caring for meatballs.
But these Polpette are really, truly worth it. I swear.
You then want to form the meat mixture into 16 to 18 meatballs, roughly the size of a squash ball.
As always, I find that using a spring loaded ice cream scoop really helps in getting this done quickly and efficiently. Plus, these spoons they’re so much fun to use, they’ll make you forget all about the fact that your hands are sticky and yucky from handling that meat.
Now place a large and heavy skillet over medium-high heat (you might want to wash your hands first) and add a liberal amount of cooking fat to it, preferably lard or ghee. Sear the meatballs in batches, about 6 to 8 at a time, until they get nice and browned all around, about 4 to 5 minutes total.
Transfer the par-cooked meatballs to a large stockpot while you work on the rest of the meatballs.
Once all the meatballs have been seared, add the diced tomatoes, water, tomato paste and spices to the stock pot.
Bring this to a boil and then reduce the heat, cover and cook the meatballs for about an hour on a slow simmer, stirring very delicately from time to time.
After about an hour, remove the lid and continue cooking for 15 to 20 minutes, until the sauce thickens.
Kill the heat, add the chopped spinach and very delicately mix it in.
Hmmmpft… you *think* perhaps my stockpot is in need of a good scrubbing? Guess, that’s what happens after nearly 15 years of regular use…
Ah! Yet another thing I need to put on my to-do list!
Cover the pot and let the dish rest for 5 to 10 minutes until the spinach is completely wilted.
Serve this piping hot, with a healthy dribble of extra-virgin olive oil.
And if you absolutely must have a little something extra on the side, try throwing in a handful of almond stuffed green olives, or top it with cubes of creamy avocado.
I bet this would also be fantastic served over a bed of oven baked spaghetti squash or creamy cauliflower mash.
Oh yeah… that’ll hit the spot!
Can you get a sense of how moist and juicy and tender these meatballs truly are?
Oh, how I wish you could smell and taste this, but unfortunately, I think you’re gonna have to whip up your own batch if you want to try them for yourselves.
Besides, my own Polpette alla Fiorentina is long gone. I wolfed it all down in no time. This was one of those dishes that I couldn’t get enough of and was truly happy not having to compete with anyone for the leftovers!
I got to keep them ALL to myself.
Polpette alla Fiorentina
Ingredients
FOR THE MEATBALLS
- 2 lb grassfed ground beef
- 2 cups raw cauliflower, grated
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp Himalayan salt
- 1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 1 tbsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp chili pepper flakes
- 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
FOR THE SAUCE
- 1 large can diced tomatoes
- 1 small can tomato paste
- 2 cups water
- 1 tsp Himalayan salt
- 1/2 tsp ground white pepper
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 1 tbsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp chili pepper flakes
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- 1 lb baby spinach leaves, roughly chopped
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients for the meatballs to a large mixing bowl and knead well with clean hands to fully combine.
- Form into 16-18 meatballs, roughly the size of a squash ball (a medium sized spring loaded ice cream scoop really helps to do this quickly and efficiently).
- Place a large heavy skillet over medium high heat and add a liberal amount of cooking fat, preferably lard or ghee. Sear the meatballs in batches, about 6-8 at a time, until they get nice and browned all around, about 4-5 minutes, then transfer them to a large stockpot while you work on the rest of the meatballs.
- Once all the meatballs have been seared, add tomatoes, water, tomato paste and spices to the stock pot. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover and cook the meatballs for about one hour on a slow simmer, stirring very delicately from time to time. Remove the lid and continue cooking for about 20 minutes, until the sauce thickens. Kill the heat, add the spinach and very delicately mix it in. Cover the pot and let the dish rest for 5 to 10 minutes until the spinach is completely wilted.
Nutrition
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14 Comments on “Polpette alla Fiorentina”
I LOVE meatballs (and meatloaf)…….. these look so good. And a great way to get a tone of veggies!! I am going to make these soon…….as soon as the meatloaf is gone. 🙂
Ok slow down……I am getting behind on trying your recipes and I don’t even print every one off, because some of them (chicken, shrimp, pork) I just can’t eat. Anyway, I am kidding of course. Even though tomatoes are are my avoid list, I will be making this with beef broth and……………well I’ll figure it out!
I think some kind of squash might to the trick here… if you can have squash, that is! And I’ll try and stick to chicken, shrimp or pork for a while so you get a chance to catch up! 😉
Absolutely, I CAN eat squash and I have become very in to it. I always loved spaghetti squash but now I love butternut too. They are so versatile. LOL on the offer to make things that I don’t eat, thank you. Just give me a couple of weeks. 🙂
I love these meat balls! I had to simmer them longer than the recipe called for so I added extra tomato sauce. They were a hit! I also froze some of the balls (uncooked) to make again this week. I love the cauliflower, it makes for moist meat balls.
Real happy to hear, and thanks so much for taking the time to leave this brilliant feedback, Diana. You totally rock! 😀
I never comment on sites but I had to here because you should know how amazing your recipes are!!! I am about to embark on my first whole30 and have been starting to make some recipes ahead of time to make sure I have a few go-to’s, and so far yours have been the best. I made these meatballs last night and my boyfriend said “there’s no way these are good for you.” That’s when you know something really tastes great, when it tastes bad! 🙂 Thanks again and please keep some “squeaky clean” recipes coming!!
Wow, I am totally flushed. Thank YOU so very much Emily for taking the time to leave such great and amazing feedback! You are a true gem.
Good luck with your Whole30 challenge. You can totally do it. Always keep in mind, it’s only food, and it’s only 30 days. You got this 🙂
I have ground turkey in my freezer that I’d like to use up. Would it work okay If I substitute that? I made your hummus and pita chips, and it was great! How long can it keep in the fridge?
Absolutely, Kim! It’ll be equally delicious!
As for the hummus, it’ll keep for up to several days in the fridge.
My family love, love, love this recipe!!!! I baked the meat balls to save me time as I do batch cooking so I can be working on another recipe while they cook. I make it a lot and freeze; it freezes very well!!! Thank you!!!
Thanks for the awesome feedback, Ruth. So happy to hear that this is a winning recipe for you and your fam! 🙂
I found this recipe back in 2015 when I was looking for good tasting paleo recipes. Made this a bunch of times but always added tons more spinach as it just wilts down to nothing and halved the salt. When I went vegan for awhile this recipe went out of our circulation. Now I am back to minimal red meat eating and my hubby remembered this recipe (always a great sign if the hubs remembers liking a recipe). So I frantically looked for it on my computer for today’s lunch. Almost thought I wasn’t going to find it…but I did!
We had almost everything in the house except tomato paste and you know what, it was just as good as I remembered…even without the paste.
I am going to go through your other recipes to see if there are other paleo and vegan gems. Thanks for this one!