A very old traditional Romanian recipe...

Traditional Romanian Meatballs (Chiftele)

INGREDIENTS

1. 1 kg (2 1/4 lbs) lean ground pork
2. 2 beaten eggs
3. 2 peeled & grated medium potatoes
4. 4 slices of bread without peel, soaked in cold water, squeezed off and torn in small pieces
5. 2 finely chopped onions
6. 5-6 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
7. 1/4 cup of canola oil to cook the meatballs
8. cold water for shaping
9. 1 cup all-purpose flour
10. 2 tsp salt
11. 2 tsp freshly ground pepper

PREPARATION

1. Place the meat in a large bowl.
2. While constantly mixing it, add gradually the eggs, onions, garlic, salt and pepper.
3. Once all these ingredients mixed up, add the bread and grated potatoes, and mix until you obtain a homogenous texture.
4. Use a 60 ml ice cream spoon to equally portion each meat ball and roll it firmly in your hands wetted with cold water. Then flatten each meatball.
5. Generously flour each ball and set aside. Repeat this until the last ball.
6. Cover the bottom pan with canola oil to a height of 1/2 po (1 cm) and preheat it over high heat. Careful not to overheat the oil.
7. Then, over medium heat, cook the meatballs on each side until they reach an internal temperature of 160 °F (70 °C).
8. Repeat the last opertion for the remaining meatballs.