Rustic Meatball Spezzatino

By Carolyn Burns Bass

My Italian-American father cooked with spice. Only recently have I learned about one of the special ingredients he used to heat up his sauces. My dad was the black sheep of his large, Italian family, and after my parents divorced when I was seven years old, he largely left my life. Many of the Italian foods he cooked for us were lost to me.

I developed my preference for vermicelli, or angel hair, over spaghetti, because my dad always used it. Whether tomato-based, or my favorite garlic-butter sauce, his sauces were spicy. I recall him dipping a big spoon of red stuff from a jar and stirring it into anything he was making. It wasn’t until I learned more about Calabrian cooking did I learn what that jar contained.

A few years ago I connected with a cousin from my Italian side of the family. Our great-grandfathers were brothers and each of them moved to Calabria where they married Calabrian girls. George and I have forged a wonderful relationship through many shared interests. George is a phenomenal cook and often shares photos of his delectable dishes. During a recent chat, George told me how he amps up the flavor in his Italian recipes: Calabrian chili pepper reserva. 

Boom! The mysterious red stuff my dad added to his pasta sauces was Calabrian chili peppers. 

While George makes his own reserva (which we’ll deconstruct another time) based on his mother’s recipe, he pointed me to a brand called Tutto Calabria who makes a line of chili products that is very close to his mother’s recipe. So, I went online and scored my first jar of crushed Calabrian peppers preserved in olive oil. Let me tell you, these have been a game-changer. These peppers lull your tastebuds into a smokey siesta before igniting your tongue. Since buying my first jar of Tutto Calabria crushed chili peppers I’ve been adding them to many of my favorite foods.

Now for the Spezzatino

Spezattino is the Italian word for stew. Like stews the world over, there is no official recipe for spezzatino. I developed this recipe through reactionary cooking. Reactionary cooking is when I want to use only what I have easily on hand. In this case, I wanted to use up some frozen meatballs that were taking up space in my freezer. I also had a large freezer bag of beef bone broth that needed to be used. From here I rummaged in the fridge and came up with ingredients for an Italian stew in which I could use my Calabrian peppers.

This stew recipe has only carrots, sweet peppers and mushrooms for veggies, but you could easily add green bell peppers, potatoes, green peas, zucchini or eggplant for vegetable diversity. Instead of meatballs, you could brown cubed beef, pork or chicken in the saute pan before adding to the main stew.

This recipe can be modified for crockpot cooking or instant pot. However, for best results, don’t skip the vegetable saute step. The saute process caramelizes the vegetables in the olive oil, increasing their flavor and adding depth to the stew. If you do skip the saute step, no judgement here. The stew will still be yummy.

For crockpot: Saute vegetables (or not), add to crock along with remaining ingredients through step 3. Cook on low for 6 hours. Add gnocchi and fresh herbs, set crock to high and cook one more hour.

For instant pot*: Saute vegetables (or not), add to instant pot, along with remaining ingredients through step 2. Cook on Soup/Stew setting (pressure: high, 30 minutes). After releasing pressure and opening, combine steps 3 and 4, replace lid and cook on Soup/Stew setting for the finish.

*For instant pot, I recommend cooking the gnocchi separately and adding to the stew after final step.

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil

6 cloves garlic, minced

1 whole onion, chopped

6 sweet peppers, chopped

1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced

1 cup celery, chopped

2 qts beef stock

1 cup dry red wine

1 6 oz can tomato paste

1 tsp coarsely ground pepper (more to taste)

1 tsp salt (more to taste)

1 bay leaf

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1 tbsp crushed Calabrian peppers

1 cup instant mashed potatoes

1 lb meatballs (pre-cooked)

1 cup carrots, chopped

2 tbsp fresh basil, chopped

1/2 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped

Procedure

  1. Saute onion, garlic, celery, sweet speppers and mushrooms in olive oil until soft and lightly browned.
  1. In large pot or Dutch oven, add beef stock, red wine and tomato paste together over medium heat. Stir in sauteed vegetables, the chopped carrots, chopped Calabrian peppers, ground pepper, salt, coriander, and bay leaf*. Stir well, then cover and let stew for 1 hour.

*You can substitute dry herbs if you don’t have fresh rosemary or basil. If using dried basil and rosemary, reduce the measurements in half, and add to stew before covering.

  1. After stewing one hour, add the meatballs and instant mashed potatoes* and stew another one hour, pot covered.

*You can use fresh mashed potatoes (with no added butter, cream, or other ingredients). Should you do this, reduce the measured amount about to 1/2 cup.

  1. When second stewing is complete, add chopped rosemary and basil, along with the gnocchi*. Simmer again for 15 minutes if gnocchi is fresh, or 30 minutes if gnocchi is frozen.

*Gnocchi can become dried and too chewy if cooked too long, hence the addition as a final step shortly before serving.

*Of course, you could also cook the gnocchi separately, then serve the stew over the plain gnocchi.

  1. Remove bay leaf, stir stew and serve. Enjoy!