Mondeghili: what is the history of this typical Milanese dish?
Saffron risotto with succulent ossobuco, cassœula, schnitzel and panettone… Do you really believe that Milanese gastronomy ends with these three – exquisite – typical dishes? Broaden your views, because this is not the end of it!
Milanese cuisine is rich in traditional dishes – for example, the invigorating minestrone – ranging from first courses to main courses, but not only: this is the case of mondeghili, perfect both as an appetizer and as an apericena course, a must for the tables of the Ambrosian capital!
What is it all about? Find out with us as you continue reading this article that will tell you the history and recipe of the delicious mondeghili – small preview: in the rest of the peninsula they are called meatballs… but not in Milan!
Mondeghili of Milan: history and origins of this “leftovers” dish
As is the case with all traditional dishes, tracing the origins of Milan’s tasty mondeghili requires going back centuries and centuries, to be precise, to the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries ( Cherubini instead gave an initial definition in his 1839 Vocabolario Milanese Italiano).
Yes, because it seems indeed that the history of mondeghili has its roots in the time of Spanish rule in Milan and that it is to Spain that it owes part of its origin, which merges-in an intriguing fusion-with the Arab tradition.
In fact, the etymology of the word “mondeghilo” already suggests a kinship with Spain: albondeguito, in the Spanish language, is meatball. Of course, a Milanese doc would first respond that a mondeghilo is such because it is not called a “meatball,” the term used in Milan to allude to savoy cabbage rolls. In fact, however, mondeghili are the Milanese recipe for meatballs that are made in the rest of Italy, prepared, however, according to Lombard tradition.
Yet despite the fact that Arab influences are found more in traditional Sicilian dishes, mondeghili also boast “exotic” origins: in fact, the Spanish term in turn derives from the Arabic word “al-bunduc,” used to name a mouth-wateringly good recipe, that of small balls of minced meat, fried in hot oil.
Having left Spanish domination behind for centuries now, in 2008 the recipe for mondeghilo was awarded the special Denominazione Comunale (De.Co), the same designation that the exquisite Milanese cutlet can boast of.
A traditional dish, then, but first and foremost a “poor” dish, the child of that philosophy according to which nothing is really thrown away in the kitchen: that’s why mondeghili used to be prepared with leftover boiled beef and softened stale bread, and even today they are an anti-waste dish par excellence!
History is history… but what about the recipe? Let’s try making mondeghili!
As mentioned, preparing mondeghili requires getting to work in the kitchen using “leftovers.” Originally, in fact, the recipe had as its main ingredient leftover beef from the boil, stale bread enlivened with water or milk, onion or garlic, and a pinch of nutmeg to give that extra note of aroma. Everything, once mixed and given the dough the round shape of a small meat ball, strictly fried in melted butter. Light? Maybe not, but 100 percent good!
So if you want to follow the original recipe and also try in your own kitchen to make this traditional Milanese culinary dish, here is how to prepare mondeghili.
Ingredients for preparation
- 600 g of ground beef
- 2 whole eggs
- Crumbs from two rosettes of bread
- Breadcrumbs
- Whole milk
- Finely chopped parsley
- Salt to taste.
- Nutmeg
- Grated lemon peel
- Butter to melt
The steps for preparing mondeghili
Take the ground meat and place it in a fairly large container. Mix the meat with the eggs, while softening the rosette crumbs with the milk. Combine it together also with the parsley, lemon peel and nutmeg and season with salt. Form small balls of meat and coat the surface in breadcrumbs before frying them in a frying pan. The butter must be melted, and the patties should then be scooped out with the aid of a skimmer and placed on a plate to remove excess oil and grease.
This is the original recipe for mondeghili, but if you like reinterpretations at the stove then you can also vary by adding Grana Padano cheese, or even salami or mortadella in the mixture and then accompany the mondeghili with baked potatoes, offering them as an excellent main course.
Enjoy your meal!
You might also be interested in: Milanese michetta: history and preparation of Milan’s most famous bread.
