National Meatball Day
National Meatball Day is here, and San Francisco is a perfect place to celebrate with meatballs from all over the globe that are guaranteed to make your taste buds tingle. For most Americans this means large juicy pork and /or beef meatballs with tangy, garlicky marinara sauce and gooey, melted cheese. Visions of the most iconic moment in Disney Film history, the “Bella Notte” spaghetti scene in 1955’s Lady and the Tramp and the garlic slicing scene in Martin Scorcese’s 1990 film, Good Fella’s”, immediately enter many of our minds. This classic comfort food goes way beyond the American style version we pile onto spaghetti marinara, with a generous heap of Parmesan.
Meatballs have been around for thousands of years, so pinning down their exact origin is tricky. Some point to ancient China as a place of origin. Modern day Iran (ancient Persia) is another strong contender, as kofta emerged as a staple of the Persian culinary tradition long before Italian immigrants stepped foot on American soil. It seems like every culture has their own version of meatballs.
Both Spain and Mexico have a version of meatballs known as albóndigas, which, aside from the name, are very different dishes. Albóndigas means something along the lines of “little round ones” in Spanish. In Spain they are a tapas or small bite, served in a sauce, often with a smoky, savory taste and sometimes served along with potatoes. In Mexico albóndigas can be served in sauce along with tortillas, rice and beans or can be a meatball soup, loaded with fresh veggies…