Fishy bites that never fail to get gobbled up are fish balls poached in a tomato salsa with Sicilian flavours.
A Polpetta in Italian is a ‘patty’ or ‘rissole’ or in this case a ‘ball’ and these can be made with meat, fish or vegetables and bound with eggs and breadcrumbs.
I made these fish balls quite small as finger food that was easily transported and to a friend’s birthday celebration.
Because they are poached in a tomato salsa I presented them on Chinese soup spoons.
Of course these fish balls can be made larger and are not just limited to party food. They make a great antipasto or main course.
The fish I used this time is Rockling. At other times I have made them with other Australian wild caught fish (sustainable at the time), for example Snapper, Flathead, Blue-eye and Mahi Mahi.
Here are some photos of the process I used to make the fish balls.
Cut the fish into chunks and mince it in a food processor.
You maybe able to identify the ingredients I used to make these fish balls, mainly currants, pine nuts, parsley and fresh bread crumbs. I always use 2-3 day old sourdough bread and no crusts. In the mixture there is also some minced garlic, grated lemon rind, chopped parsley, chilli flakes, pine nuts, grated cheese and cinnamon. On this occasion I added nutmeg too.
These ingredients are common in Sicilian cuisine, but also found in Middle Eastern food. This is not surprising when you look at Sicily’s legacy.
Combine the mixture and add some grated Pecorino (yes! with fish!), salt and pepper to taste.
Eggs bind the mixture.
The mixture should be quite firm and hold together. You may need to add more eggs – the number of eggs you will need will vary because it will depend on the texture of the fish and the bread and how much moisture is needed to shape the fishtballs.
On this occasion I found that I needed to add 1 extra egg (3 eggs altogether) for 1k of firm fish.
In the meantime make a tomato salsa. I also added a stick of cinnamon.
Shape the mixture into small balls and poach them gently in the hot salsa – use a wide saucepan. Poach them in batches and remove them gently from the salsa when cooked and set aside. When you have cooked all of them return them to the saucepan. On this occasion I made 60 fish balls and cooked them all in 3 batches.
This is the link to the recipe that is also in my second book, Small Fishy Bites.
FISH BALLS IN SALSA – POLPETTE DI PESCE (PURPETTI in Sicilian)
I presented the fish balls in Chinese soup spoons – an easy and very tasty mouthful. I made 60 fish balls for this celebration and the photo below shows the very few fish balls left on the festive table.
Spaghetti and this mixture of fish balls? Why not?
For a variation of flavours use other Mediterranean flavours: preserved lemon peel instead of grated lemon peel, fresh coriander instead of parsley, omit the cheese, add cumin and perhaps more garlic. sprinkle with fresh coriander when serving.
