Italian Meatballs: the Milan-style meatball recipe

Italian meatballs are a typical recipe of Milanese gastronomy. Known as mondeghili, they are prepared with a mixture of boiled meat, flavored with lemon zest and nutmeg, and finally fried in bubbling butter. As with most traditional recipes, each Milanese family has its own personal and beloved version. They were born as a poor dish and it was in the 17th century that the Spaniards taught the recipe to the Milanese people, who soon turned them into the culinary symbol of the city. Simple and tasty, the Italian meatballs are also a great way to recycle leftover meat and make it soft and succulent again. So let’s find out how to prepare Italian meatballs with our recipe and serve them as an appetizer or main course at a dinner with guests.

How to make Italian Meatballs

Using a slotted spoon, drain the boiled meat (1), collect it in a bowl and let it cool.

Collect the meat in a kitchen mixer, add the bologna (2) and blend well. Put the breadcrumbs to soak in the milk.

Transfer the minced meat and bologna to a large bowl and add the squeezed breadcrumbs (3), the egg, the chopped parsley, the grated lemon zest, the nutmeg and the grated Parmesan cheese.

Mix with your hands until the mixture is soft and homogeneous (4). Season with fine salt and ground pepper.

Form slightly elongated meatballs weighing about 35-40 grams each one and pass them in breadcrumbs (5).

Melt the butter in a pan and fry a few meatballs at a time (6).

When they are lightly browned, gently turn the Italian meatballs over (7) and continue cooking on the other side as well.

Once cooked, drain the Italian meatballs on a paper towel and serve hot (8).

How to store Italian Meatballs

To save the fragrance and crunchiness, we suggest to fry the Italian meatballs and enjoy them hot at the moment. If there are some leftovers, the Italian meatballs can be stored in the refrigerator, in a special airtight container, for a maximum of 2-3 days. You can also freeze them both raw and cooked.