Name: ‘Le Sirenuse’ Meatballs with Pine Kernels and Raisins in Fresh Tomato Sauce
Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients: black pepper; salt; sunflower oil for frying; plain flour for sprinkling; 2 medium eggs; 150 g/5 oz Parmesan cheese, freshly grated; 500 g/1 lb 2 oz lean minced beef; 1 medium onion; 2 teaspoons caster sugar; 1 large clove garlic; 500 g/1 lb 2 oz ripe tomatoes, the plum variety if available; 2 level tablespoons Italian tomato purée; handful fresh flat-leaf parsley; 4 tablespoons olive oil; 50 g/2 oz pine kernels; 2 medium-thick slices white bread

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Josceline Dimbleby’s Complete Cookbook

By Josceline Dimbleby

Published 1997

About

My friend Franco still lives in his family house overlooking the sea at Positano in Southern Italy-though it is now a luxurious hotel, Le Sirenuse. It was on a visit to see Franco that I had these Neapolitan meatballs. The addition of soaked bread gives them a lovely soft consistency and the pine kernels and raisins are included in many local dishes.

Unfortunately, the tomatoes available in Britain are unlikely ever to rival the wondrously intense f