Polpettine di Manzo in Umido con Piselli

My favorite recipe for meatballs.  I only recently carried through and made the sauce as well, and it is delicious!  This comes from my favorite Italian cookbook, Biba Caggiano's Trattoria Cooking, and I hope to cook my way through from cover to-cover someday!

For the Polpette:

2 slices of Italian bread without the crust, broken into pieces and soaked in 1 C milk for 5 minutes.
1 lb. Ground Beef
1 Garlic clove, finely minced
6 to 8 Sage leaves, minced, or 1 1/2 Tbsp. dried crumbled Sage
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh Parsley
1/4 C freshly grated Pecorino Romano Cheese, or 1/2 C Parmigiano

3 large Eggs, 2 of them lightly beaten

Salt and freshly ground Black Pepper to taste

1 C fine plain Breadcrumbs, spread evenly over a sheet of aluminum foil

Oil for frying

For the sauce:

2 C shelled fresh peas or frozen peas, thawed
1/4 C Olive Oil
1 small Carrot, finely minced
1/2 medium-size Onion, finely minced

2 ounces sliced Pancetta or Prosciutto, finely chopped
2 C Chicken Broth, preferably homemade
2 C canned imported Italian Tomatoes with their juice, chopped or mashed
(I just squeeze them up with my hands- it's fun that way.)
Salt and freshly ground Pepper to taste

Thaw and drain frozen peas, or cook and drain fresh ones.

Drain bread and squeeze into a soft pulp.

In a bowl, combine bread, beef, garlic, sage, parsley, cheese, and 1 egg and season with salt and pepper. Mix well until ingredients are well blended.  Shape into small balls and flatten slightly. Dip into beaten eggs and roll in dried  breadcrumbs.  Heat one inch oil in a heavy medium skillet over medium heat. Place a few polpette at a time in the hot oil. Cook until lightly golden on both sides, 2-3 minutes. Place on paper towels to drain.

*Alternatively, you can skip the egg and breadcrumbs and bake the polpette on a baking tray in the oven at 350 ̊ for 30 minutes.

To prepare sauce, heat a heavy medium-size pot over medium heat. Add oil, carrot and onion and cook, stirring, until they begin to color, 2-3 minutes. Add pancetta and cook, stirring, until lightly golden, 2-3 minutes. Add broth and tomatoes and season with salt and pepper.  Bring sauce to a gentle boil, add the polpette, and reduce heat to medium-low. Partially cover pot and cook until sauce has a medium thick consistency, 7-8 minutes. Add peas and cook a few minutes longer. Taste and adjust seasonings. Serve immediately.