My great grandparents were from Naples, Italy…Napoli. Several years after they both arrived in the United States, they moved their family from New York to Connecticut. There they opened a small Italian restaurant in the early ‘40’s. Everyone helped with the restaurant; my uncle made pizzas in the wood oven, my aunt helped in the kitchen, my other aunt waited tables and my grandma took care of her younger siblings. My grandma will often tell stories about her mom making pasta and laying it out everywhere to dry.

My grandma and her sisters will agree to disagree whose cooking is most like moms. But some things are certain; there were always raisins in her meatballs. Meatballs with raisins might sound unusual but they are actually quite traditional.

My cousin dated a girl who ended up working with Dylan many years later. She said she travelled all over Italy and never saw or heard of raisins in meatballs. I told her it was just a family tradition or so I thought.

When my kids were in preschool they studied countries of their ancestors. They each chose Italy. So my grandma made meatballs with raisins and I made Anise Biscotti for the preschoolers. Beforehand, I did some research online to discover we weren’t the only ones who used raisins in our meatballs!

I learned the use of raisins and pine nuts came from contact with Arabs, who used them significantly because Sicily was an Arab Province for some time. You will find the use of raisins in more Southern Italian cooking.

My grandma will always fry her meatballs. I used to get a kick out of family gatherings when I was growing up because my dad’s cousins used to be able to tell when the meatballs were baked and not fried.

The raisins will plump up after simmering in the sauce for hours. I absolutely love my meatballs with raisins because it adds a little bit of sweetness.

Neopolitan Meatballs
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2 ½ lbs. ground beef
5 slices bread
2 eggs
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
½ cup bread crumbs
1 cup raisins

Soak bread in water. Squeeze each slice of bread and break apart into a bowl. Add eggs and gently mix with the bread. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well with hands. Form into balls and set aside.

Frying directions: Fry meatballs in olive oil, turning them to brown on all sides.

Baking directions: Bake at 350 for ½ hour.

Once the meatballs have cooled, add them to the sauce.

Makes about 2 ½ dozen