Polpette Di Pane

When you have the world's best tomato sauce and then add fried bread meatballs you end up with an amazingly delicious dinner. Being the day before pay day this could be classified under cucina prover, "cuisine of the poor." The bread was from leftover loaves that I had frozen. No waste in this kitchen!

Polpette Di Pane (Bread Balls in Tomato Sauce)

2 cups canned imported Italian tomatoes, cut up, with their juice
5 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, peeled and cut in half
Salt to taste
4 large eggs, beaten
1 tbsp. grated pecorino
1 tbsp Basil
About 6 oz. stale bread (not too soft, not too hard: about 2 days old, grated)
1/2 cup olive oil
Salt

Put the tomatoes in a saucepan, add the butter, onion, and salt, and cook uncovered at a very slow, but steady simmer for about 45 minutes, or until it is thickened to your liking and the fat floats free from the tomato.

Stir from time to time, mashing up any large pieces of tomato with the back of a wooden spoon.

Taste and correct for salt. Using an immersion blender, puree the sauce and onion. Season to taste.

Mix the eggs in a bowl with salt, cheese and the basil. Add the bread and work together to form a soft dough. Make the dough into balls, then flatten them. Heat the olive in a pan and saute the bread balls until golden. Drain on paper towels then add them to the tomato sauce. Cook for 10 minutes at low heat.