Polpette di piselli – Green Pea Boulettes

I love ball-shaped food. Any kinds of gnocchi and polpette is relaxing to mould for me, quick to cook and easy to eat. It is a convivial shape everybody loves. No need of knife.
Here I prepare vegetarian polpette with green pea and I serve them in a tomato sauce. 

It is a quick side dish I can make at the last moment, as I always keep green peas in in my freezer, eggs, lemon and Parmesan in my fridge, breadcrumbs and tin tomatoes in my pantry. That is it! With a touch fresh mint, if you have it.

I bake my green polpette, as I find them lighter and crispier out of the oven.

Polpette di piselli – Green Pea Boulettes
500 g garden peas, frozen
100 g homemade breadcrumbs, plus to coat the boulettes
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
60 g grated Parmesan
4 fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
The zest of 1 lemon
Sea salt and black pepper

200 g tin chopped tomatoes
Extra virgin oil

Serves 5 to 6
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes

1. In a pan, bring to the boil 1 liter of water; add 1 tablespoon of salt and plunge the green peas. Return to the boil and cook for 5 minutes, until just tender. Drain.
2. Place the peas in a food processor and blitz into a coarse mixture.
3. Arrange the pea mixture into a bowl and stir in the breadcrumbs, the eggs, the Parmesan, the lemon zest and the mint. Mix with a fork and adjust the seasoning.
4. With your wet hand, mold boulettes the size of a nut and coat them with breadcrumbs.
5. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
6. Line an oven tin with baking paper and grease it with oil.
7. Arrange the pea boulette over the tin and drizzle with oil.
8. Bake for 10 minutes, turning them once.
9. In a pan, heat 1 tablespoon of oil and sauté the tomatoes for 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
10. Add the pea boulettes to the sauce and cook for 2 minutes, stirring to coat.
11. Serve hot.