How Traditional Italian Meatballs in Tomato Sauce are Made | Claudia Romeo

Meatballs are an iconic food in Italian cuisine, made with very simple ingredients that everybody has at home. Each ingredient is important for the texture and structure of the meatball. I visited il Polpettificio, a restaurant in Bari, Italy that serves thousands of meatballs every day to find out the most traditional way to make meatballs in Italy. Everything from what is the best cheese to use, to what sauce is best to cook them in.
Thank you to my subscriber, Deepak DS, who kindly wrote the subtitles for this video.
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I'm Claudia, a journalist and producer reporting on food. I was born and raised in Bari, Italy, and I have been living in London, UK since 2012. I am the host and producer of Regional Eats on Insider Food and So Expensive Food on Insider Business. I enjoy learning what goes behind the scenes in the food industry, how traditional dishes are made and why certain foods are so important to countries and cultures around the world. Follow me for more food videos!
How Traditional Italian Meatballs in Tomato Sauce are Made
#meatballs #tomatosauce #italianfood #claudiaromeo

[@claudia-romeo]

Hi guys! So nice to finally be here on KZbin. I hope you enjoy this video! Stay tuned, there are more coming (hint: cheese...) Let me know in the comments what else you would like to see👇

[@EttinTheBreton]

OMG yes!!! I have missed all the cheese videos so much 🥰 I will watch them until you cover all the cheeses across the entire planet. And these meatballs looked incredibly good. I have been learning more about Indian food, so I would also like to see more about famous dishes from India. The recent Big Batches episodes in India are really great.

[@chanperth]

So glad u have your own channel

[@quanghuy28021994]

Fantastic

[@claudia-romeo]

@@EttinTheBreton I wish I could try all the cheeses on earth! And I hope I can travel to India someday too🙏

[@ElliottRodgers]

Brilliant news!

[@derbigpr500]

Good to finally see this recipe with just great quality pure ingredients without 10 million spices in the sauce.

[@144megabytes]

The way she describes the food and asks good questions really conpletes these vids.

[@claudia-romeo]

thank you!

[@devdroid9606]

I like that you did the interview in Italian, with sub titles.

[@novaqultra]

Have been watching your videos with business insider for almost 3 years 😄😄 today youtube algorithm suggested me your own channel,,, looking forward for your amazing cheese videos

[@rossrreyes]

I just LOVE hearing Italian spoken. Such a classical language

[@u235u235u235]

too bad italian ppl are jerks to non-italians.

[@jamiestwrt]

It really is very pleasant

[@jsgr5382]

Grazie

[@jamesdaple9951]

I love everything Italian the food the people the cars and motorcycles, design and architecture what a great country! Hats off from Miami.

[@kitcutting]

this is a great format not just for food but also for journalism. Claudia doesn’t edit too much out, so you get some outtakes and conversational exchanges that would normally be cut out from the final version of the video. Cooking and enjoying food are both human experiences, and so these videos are definitely how they should be 🤌🏽

[@leticiavenancio8148]

claudia it's so good to see you back on KZbin!! I wish you all the best with your channel!

[@yankytyke]

So glad to see you back in front of the camera and narrating again.

[@xhlynxhlyn]

This lady is an expert. She know the essential of the texture of the food and combined together. Respect.

[@tirsovalli5618]

I'm honestly pretty sure I've seen them do much better....

[@kramdunc]

Congratulations Claudia, very much looking forward to your food adventures.

[@Raylan_323]

I like how he took a bite but you ate the whole meatball in one

[@claudia-romeo]

😂😂

[@Olesiaro]

Congratulations on your own channel 🎉❤ So excited for you and wishing you the most amazing journey ahead ☺️✨

[@Olesiaro]

As for the topics - any food topic is always great 😀 Also maybe you could share your personal food stories and experience living in Bari and Italy in general, it would be super cool. I am reading Stanley Tucci’s food memoir right now and it’s fascinating! Non-food related, but still very curious - your journey as the Food insider journalist. I am very interested to know more about that too ☺️

[@claudia-romeo]

Thank you for the suggestions! Hopefully one day I will also get to publish my memoir like Stanley Tucci🤞

[@Olesiaro]

@@claudia-romeo you will! I have no doubts 🥰❤️🙏🏻

[@claudia-romeo]

You can now book your spot to travel to Italy with me in 2024! 🇮🇹 🗓 18-23 April 2024 📍Rome and Florence 🎒Included activities: Ancient Rome visits and walking tour, traditional Tuscan farm visit, Florence walking tour, cheese and wine tasting 👯 24 spots available 💳 Pricing Early bird (7 left!): $3,250 Regular: $3,450 🌍 Prices are in USD but you can book from anywhere in the world! 25% due at the time of booking the remainder is due 90 days before the trio start date. Options to pay in 6, 12, 18 months are also available. Book your spot here: trovatrip.com/trip/europe/italy/italy-with-claudia-romeo-apr-2024 Questions? Just comment this post with “✈” and I’ll send you more details. Any questions, just comment below! I can’t wait to show you around Italy! Rome is our meeting point 🇮🇹

[@fiorarosa1090]

OMG, you have your own channel! I love this

[@matchapetals]

Love your videos! Always such positive vibes and great energy. Looking forward to more cheese videos (my favourite thing in the world). Italy is still my favourite country I've ever visited and can't wait to go back soon. 😀

[@tsilmanav]

Within the confines of my kitchen, I love this woman! So many food ideas, I am trying this meatball process this weekend!

[@FerdinandMagallenas]

Tão feliz em vê-lo de volta no KZbin com o seu próprio canal!! Ansioso por muitas das suas aventuras culinárias!!😍😍😍

[@RayBecker]

What a great channel!! My mother's Father is from Sicily and her mother is Napoli. Love these videos. Thank you Claudia

[@theresachiorazzi4571]

There’s nothing better than a good meatball. ❤❤❤

[@Quillons1]

My grandparents all came from Italy. They learned to cook there. They passed those techniques to some of us. I've been cooking since I was 10. That's almost 40 years of cooking. That's a LOT of meatballs. One thing I learned is that there is more than one "traditional" method to cook meatballs. My Napolitano grandmother cooked them one way. My Calabrese grandmother cooked them another. Never once have I ever seen them deep fried first. Not that I'm saying it's wrong, but this "traditional" method of making them varies GREATLY from the 2 "traditional" ways my grandmothers (and by default, me) make them, particularly in Sunday sugo/ragù. But I'd love to try Federica's, they look tasty.

[@seeriktus]

Wish I could have had a meatball childhood (in my family it was curries and roast lamb though!) The frying I think is to get some brown crispiness on the outside. You can't get that without raising the temperature above boiling point, as you do in frying.

[@Quillons1]

@@seeriktus I'll say this. I LOVE curries and roast lamb. I didn't get that growing up because it wasn't something my grandparents were culturally attached to. About the browning of the meatballs. Typically, I fry them off in a pan with a little oil. It's not deep fried but you sear the outside of the meatballs. Another method is to brown them in the oven. This is useful when doing a lot of them but I, personally, feel they don't come out as good. They're good, just not as good as pan frying them. Frying the meatballs off (whichever technique you use) before putting them in the sauce is the better method when you want the meatballs to be the star of the show. I actually like my Calabrese grandmother's method better of putting raw meatballs directly in the sauce. I find this method makes the sauce the star of the show. I am a believer that the pasta and sauce are the more exciting part of the meal, but my family likes the better meatballs, so that's how I do it but you can try both methods and see what you prefer.

[@seeriktus]

@@Quillons1 Ah I see, Perhaps you could combine the "stars" of both worlds. If you fry in shallow oil, you'll end up with some fond on the bottom of the pan. Put that in with your sauce, take it off with a little water and you'll get that delicious in the sauce. Respect for the traditional methods of course though!

[@BulletESV]

Frying them is the way to go! we do it that was every sunday, they actually get texture and dont turn to mush

[@jamesp13152]

Agree. I fry mine in a pan though, in olive oil. Never thought of deep frying, have to give that a try.😁

[@BulletESV]

​@@jamesp13152 Shallow frying will give the same result if you trun them at the correct time, its also good because you get testers before you put them in the sauce haha

[@jamesp13152]

@@BulletESV Were you spying on me cooking? Have to give em a taste... I keep a close eye and regularly turn till brown around, they do lose some of their circular shapes, but, who cares? 😬

[@MrMopar413]

I’ve watched a lot of videos on meatballs and this recipe is really basic and the surprise was they deep fried them just a little bit to get a crust on the outside surface, that’s vary interesting trick 👍👍👍

[@byron6158]

You are a lovely person and I can’t wait to see more videos in your channel ❤

[@id10t98]

30+ years ago I almost married a young lady in Switzerland and Claudia looks almost identical to her.

[@AlphaPoe]

Beautiful! Much like my grandma from Cosenza, Calabria made them. I miss her and her great cooking.

[@EOTB_Focus]

Yesssss! You’re on KZbin 🎉

[@flugoaway3398]

You’ve been missed Claudia ❤

[@brandonmullinax4655]

Wow I'm new here..but that looks absolutely amazing....love those meatballs...great video...can't wait to check out the rest of this channel 👌🍝

[@nickdavison9771]

That looks incredible, makes me hungry just looking at that gorgeous tomato and basil sauce!

[@SausageBausage]

What a beautiful sauce. And the fried meatballs i must try it in my kitchen

[@andrejohnson6731]

The owner took a little tiny fancy bite - Claudia ate that meatball whole. Respect.

[@roycemorales3924]

Congratulations on your youtube channel. Much love from the Philippines.

[@GodzHarleyGirlStudio]

Loved this! Would love the recipe for a home-sized recipe!!

[@TonyKavalierosUS]

Congratulations Claudia!!

[@amelieris8246]

I'm so exited for more content thank you for joining KZbin :)

[@macpulse7]

Your videos from food insider are very good, you take very good effort to make it so special, keep it up.i like your cheese 🧀 videos the most .

[@claudia-romeo]

Thank you! There is a cheese video coming this week🧀

[@6412mars]

I was almost slobbering 😂omg! I'ma hungry!

[@riaanaucamp1472]

Don't know who you are. This came up in my recommended. Loved the video and subscribed. Will enjoy your future videos. Your style of presenting is very good. ❤

[@ryanwaege7251]

Everytime I watch your content, I am so satisfied. And hungry!

[@niklaspotter7003]

Dead happy to see this channel! I loved your other work I've seen and definitely going to watch all on here. I'm in Liguria for six weeks so I will look for inspiration on this channel :)

[@_iching]

Congrats and loving the videos... I would love to visit Bari one day.. thank you for your videos!

[@per-arnejohansson4565]

This, I love. It´s the proper way to serve Italien meatballs, with a nice bread to dip in 😋😋😋

[@eberabimaelbernabecruz9200]

What a nice dish

[@darrencampbell8817]

Awesome video! Thank you Claudia!

[@scottpitner4298]

I haven’t even seen these yet and I can already tell I could eat some Every Day!

[@zangmaster]

Looks so good! I'm gonna make some this week!

[@bittertea8542]

Love the videos you produced for Insider Food, I'm so happy you have your own channel now ! Instant follow, I'm excited for all your future content ❤

[@peekaboots01]

Those meatballs look so incredibly delicious. My mouth is watering.

[@lardna]

I love that I also can practice listening to italian while watching your videos. I'm rocking Duolingo

[@grimfei]

Great video, those meatballs look great! I wish there is a lot more to come soon :p

[@javier_la6930]

Bellisimo !! Thanks for the video !

[@donhancock332]

My grandmother was Irish but she learned to make " sauce" from the Italian women in her neighborhood in Brooklyn.Simmered slow on the back of the stove.

[@horsenuts1831]

I love the quarter-second nod to American 'meatballs with spaghetti' right at the end. So now we know what Italians think of American food.

[@ElliottRodgers]

Fantastic! Want to eat some right now

[@zacthomas77]

It looks so delicious 🤤

[@HydroSnips]

Wowww, I’m genuinely surprised the meatball mixture gets emulsified like that. All those other “press together gently to keep the structure” vids have been lying to me :D Q: What’s the broth/stock that seems to go in the sauce at some point before it passes through the mill? Certainly looks like it has in some shots.

[@claudia-romeo]

There is no broth actually! The only 'liquids' in the sauce are wine and olive oil. When you cook the sauce for a few hours, the oil at the top will look a bit like stock. I've noticed that in my sauce as well!

[@HydroSnips]

@@claudia-romeo Oh wow, obvs I need to add more wine to my sauces to get that colour in future :D Will definitely try to recreate this, am bound to fail but worth a go anyway. Grazie Claudia!

[@heathergittens3223]

Love this comfort food. Thank you.

[@adamchurvis1]

2:54 No, she is not in any way caramelizing anything to any degree whatsoever. She immediately pours in wine while the onions are still white and raw.

[@katough]

drooling on my keyboard. i'm going to have to try this.

[@davidwaller3790]

They look delicious!!! Never thought about deep frying them..mmm

[@ivanpadilla1936]

Originally inspired by similar dishes from southern Italy, the modern version of spaghetti and meatballs was developed by Italian immigrants in the USA.

[@flow6156]

I would love to cook that sauce but sadly, there is no ingredient list in the video or description. I mean the ingredients i saw, but how much of each is hard to guess :(

[@tameshiagodfrey]

That sauce looks delicious

[@MakoyM]

insta subbbb! loved your food content!

[@richspizzaparty]

Always thought mixing meatballs like that made them too dense? A good tip is to use a cookie scoop for shaping.

[@carlossoriano4010]

Love your videos! With all the references to “nonna,” there should have been at least one with a quick cameo 😂

[@teardrop720]

Love your videos and Italian food!

[@Cchogan]

So that's how they do it. I have never deep fried before - I will try that. They also use a much larger quantity of breadcrumbs. I would love to know the proportions of all of that. It looks like it is about 50% meat to the rest? Is that about right? I do like the idea of a meatball cafe. I am very fond of restaurants that take the route of focussing on one dish. There used to be a sausage restaurant in Little Portland Street I frequented - again, specialising on one idea allowed them to get it right.

[@id10t98]

I have been craving a meatball sandwich! Very timely and delicious looking!!

[@djtjpain]

These look really good!

[@robertsaca3512]

The rode lavaliere microphones worked well inside the noisy environments!

[@ilikechineseteaespeciallyj7262]

LETSSSS GOOOOOOO!!!!

[@aina2165]

I could easily eat this every single week 🥰

[@davidetien]

L'intera polpetta in un boccone! Respect!

[@roccosisto8196]

From Bari here also and was surprised to see that there was no addition of minced garlic and parsley to the meatballs

[@cappaslangmurderer]

Great job Claudia

[@Zhiromaru]

Nice, keep it up 😁😁

[@robertfarnon6223]

Great to finally see your own channel, your program material is so informative and original. Absolutely Brilliant, Keep going.

[@tomrut3653]

Thank you for the video, my Nonno if from Bari.

[@andystrains4335]

Reminds me of my wife’s family they are from monteleone

[@tranquilnice775]

Authentica, that's how I would describe your vids or authenticano.

[@Picasso_Picante92]

I was surprised she didn't add fennel, garlic or seasoning to the meat. Looks great.

[@Davey11]

Love these videos

[@johnjdr33]

Me gusta tu canal y es muy interesante como se hacen la albóndigas en Italia. Gracias por toda información y mucho apoyo de mi parte!

[@pariahMD]

i once asked my brother and his friend whom worked at olive garden if they fry the meatballs at olive garden and they both laughed at me for suggesting such a thing. well as it turns out real and traditional Italian meatballs are fried unlike anemic boiled looking meatballs at olive garden. i dont remember where i first heard at a proper meatball should be fried but im glad i did.

[@zaganim3813]

i think they laughed because they know olive garden is bullshit

[@anachan5953]

WHY DID I FIND HER CHANNEL JUST TODAY ?!??!?!?!?!?! IVE BEEN MISSING OUT ON SO MUCH time to catch up

[@MrDucatiPenigaleV4s]

Stunning and the food looks great too. Cioa Cioa.

[@paulpurves484]

Wow looks so tasty.

[@imrajkabir]

didn't know untiL yesterday that you've got a yt channeL! good Luck. hope to see awesome contents from you. Pika Pika! 😁

[@jsgr5382]

This actually made me sad I remember doing meatballs with my nonna when I was younger. They were my favourite thing in the world. I would eat them for breakfast I miss her

[@littlehills739]

from Australia we love porcupines m-balls with rice in mix

[@franrivasrivas8473]

Amazing cooker

[@antoniomartinez6887]

I love this videos

[@kurtisloew108]

My mother always added raw meatballs and sausage to her sauce to cook. Best meatballs on the planet. RIP ma. and my grandparents were from Bari

[@Roger-fc6hp]

Looks so yummy! The big bowl of cheese, is that also parmigiano or is it pecorino? Can only see that she says its parmigiano when she shreds its.

[@claudia-romeo]

it's all parmigiano!

[@leantris8987]

where can i find the recipe?

[@LailandiAdventures]

Bravissimo!

[@autoscape1963]

Greetings from America Claudia! A very enjoyable and informative video :) i would love to see a video on clam sauce, as well as making homeade pasta - since you asked. And, if you do not mind me saying so, you are quite charming and Beautiful. ☺

[@ixthebest8325]

very well done video