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–+ servings
plate of lemon pork meatballs or polpette with wedges of lemon
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5 from 2 votes

Lemon pork meatballs

These meatballs are packed with flavor, with a lightness from the lemon, and easy to make, too.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
rest time (approx)1 hour
Total Time25 minutes
Course: Appetizer/Starter, Main Course
Cuisine: American, Italian
Servings: 4 (approx 30 meatballs, enough for 4+)
Calories: 445kcal
Author: Caroline
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Ingredients

  • 2 oz bread tough crusts removed
  • ⅓ cup milk
  • 2 oz arugula
  • 1 oz parmesan finely grated
  • 1 lemon zest ie from 1 lemon
  • 1 lb ground pork pork mince
  • 1 egg
  • 3 tablespoon flour approx (for rolling)
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil for frying, approx, or more as needed

Instructions

  • Roughly break up the bread and place in a bowl with the milk. Leave to soak while you prepare the rest.
  • Roughly chop the arugula and grate the parmesan. Finely grate the zest from the lemon.
  • Place the ground pork in a bowl. Squeeze any excess milk from the bread then add the bread along with the chopped arugula, grated parmesan, lemon zest and egg to the pork. Season with a little salt and pepper then mix everything together well - using your hands generally works best.
  • Take roughly tablespoon-sized scoops of the mixture and form into balls. Place in the fridge for around an hour to firm up before cooking.
  • Once ready to cook, place some flour in a small bowl/plate then roll the meatballs in the flour to coat then gently shake off excess flour.
  • Heat a skillet/frying pan with a little vegetable oil then add some of the meatballs with enough space in between so you can get in to turn them. Cook for a few minutes on 2-3 sides, depending on size and how cooked they look, until they are gently browned. Serve warm (although they would be good at room temperature as well).

Video

Notes

As mentioned above, to make these more like traditional polpette de limone, you would typically use ground veal, then use parsley instead of arugula and only around 2-3tbsp rather than the amount of arugula here which is a bit more. Delicious both ways!

Nutrition

Calories: 445kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 26g | Fat: 31g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 13g | Trans Fat: 0.03g | Cholesterol: 130mg | Sodium: 292mg | Potassium: 456mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 493IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 171mg | Iron: 2mg
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