Old-Fashioned Meatballs

Spread the flour about 1/4 inch deep in the center of a baking sheet Pour olive oil into a medium skillet, drop in the minced onions and set over medium-high heat, stirring until they begin to sizzle. Lower the heat and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion is wilted and slightly dry (but not colored). Scrape out of the pan and let cool.

Break up the dry bread slices into pieces roughly an inch or two across, approximately 4 cup. Place in a shallow bowl or baking dish. Pour enough milk over to cover them and soak for 4 to 5 minutes. When the pieces are soft, gather them in your hands and firmly squeeze out all the milk; you should have almost 1 cup of densely packed moist bread. Loosen up the ground meat, spread it out in a large mixing bowl. Pour the beaten eggs on top, sprinkle on the parsley, porcini powder, salt and freshly ground pepper. Scatter the pine nuts on the meat and then spread the cooled wilted onions on top. Break up the clump of wet bread, spreading little bits over the meat.

Now fold, toss and squeeze the meat and seasonings together with your hands and fingers to distribute all the ingredients evenly.

Spread the flour about 1/4 inches deep in the center of a baking sheet. Pour vegetable oil into a large, heavy skillet or sauté pan, 12 inched in diameter if possible, to a depth of at least 1/3 inch. Scoop up a portion of meat with a small ice-cream scoop. Lightly shape the meat between your palms into 2-inch balls, a bit larger than golf balls (or whatever size you like). Drop each ball onto the floured baking sheet. Form and flour all the meat into balls in this manner.

Set the skillet over high heat until the oil is very hot. With tongs or a spatula, carefully transfer meatballs to the pan, as many as you can, leaving at least an inch or so between them. Cook for a minute or two, until they’ve started to brown on the bottom, then turn them continuously. Make sure the oil doesn’t spatter. Cook until golden-crusted on all sides, about 6 minutes. As they are done, transfer the fried balls to a baking sheet, when all the meatballs are done sprinkle lightly salt.

Note: The meatballs will finish cooking in the sauce; they are fried just until a golden crust forms. If you intend to eat them as is instead, be sure to fry them longer, until they are cooked through. Before frying the next batch, turn off the heat and, with a fine meshed skimmer or strainer, remove any browned bits from the oil. Add oil if needed to restore the 1/3-inch depth, and heat it up again. When all the meatballs are fried, cook them with ragu sauce.