BOOK REVIEW: MEATBALLS – The Ultimate Guide by Matteo Bruno

Shane | 7 August 2015 | 1 Reply

BOOK REVIEW: MEATBALLS – The Ultimate Guide by Matteo Bruno
Murdoch Books, $35.00 rrp
1 August, 2015
Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar
9/10

Think meatballs are just a handful of mince squished together and thrown in a frypan? Think again! Matteo Bruno, filmmaker and owner of the Meatball & Wine Bar restaurants in Melbourne, has produced this exhaustive guide to the art of creating the perfect, moist and tender and tasty balls of meat you could imagine.

Bruno guides us through the process, showing the reader how to prepare their own mince from scratch, which cuts of meat are best, why mince needs the right proportion of fat, and when to fry, poach or bake your balls.

The book boats about sixty different meatball recipes – from beef short rib to bone marrow; spicy red devil meatballs with a cooling cream cheese centre; bacon & bourbon; duck or rabbit or wild boar; and some comprising exotic ingredients like eggplant, water chestnuts, quinoa.

Non-meat-heads will find plenty to get excited about with fish, prawn & lobster options, as well as vegetarian balls featuring roasted pumpkin, cauliflower, corn and more.

Any cook knows that the meatball is only part of the story and Bruno devotes a large section to sauces and garnishes and ‘sotto palle’ – what to serve UNDER your balls.

It all adds up to hundreds of possible combinations – more if you think about the ideas presented here and lovingly photographed and use that as a bouncing-off point for your own creativity.