Mondeghili are Milan's leftover-Sunday-roast meatballs: minced beef, raw egg, parmigiano, bread soaked in milk, lemon zest and parsley, formed into small spheres, breaded and pan-fried in butter.
Where to eat it: 5 restaurants across 1 city.
The mondeghili (from the Arabic-Catalan albondiga) are Milan's pre-industrial frugal-cucina dish, recorded in 18th-century Milanese kitchen manuscripts. The dish is the canonical use-up of Sunday's bollito misto leftovers: minced cold beef with stale bread soaked in milk, raw egg, grated parmigiano, a grind of nutmeg and the lemon-parsley garnish that ties to ossobuco's gremolata. The pan-fry in butter (never deep-fried) is the Milanese tell. Da Giacomo, Trattoria Masuelli San Marco and Ratana serve modernised versions; the Mercato Centrale stalls run a 5-euro panino di mondeghili at lunch.
Common allergens: Gluten, Egg, Dairy
Tip from the editors. Press the meatballs flat into a disc. The Milanese mondeghilo is a flattened sphere, never a round ball. The flat sides give you more crust per bite.
This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.
Trattoria Masuelli San Marco in Milan's Porta Romana has cooked the Lombard canon since 1921, family-run by the Masuelli family for four generations.
Signature: Risotto alla milanese, Ossobuco, Cassoeula
Order: The risotto alla milanese with bone marrow, the ossobuco and the cassoeula in winter.
Tip: Bookings open ten days ahead by phone. Cash and card; the wine list runs deep on Lombard producers.
Trattoria del Nuovo Macello in Milan's south-east has cooked the Lombard trattoria canon since 1927, near the old slaughterhouse. The risotto giallo and cotoletta al
Signature: Risotto alla milanese, Cotoletta alla milanese, Ossobuco
Order: The risotto alla milanese, the cotoletta alla milanese with bone in, and the ossobuco when on the carte.
Tip: Bookings open one month ahead on the website. Lunch is the calmer service; Friday evening fills up first.
Ratana in Milan's Isola district is Cesare Battisti's modern Lombard kitchen, housed in a 19th-century railway building since 2009. The risotto giallo and cotoletta
Signature: Risotto alla milanese, Cotoletta alla milanese, Ossobuco
Order: The risotto alla milanese with bone marrow, the cotoletta alla milanese and the ossobuco.
Tip: Bookings open three weeks ahead. Lunch sittings 12:30 and 14:00; dinner from 19:30. The garden is the spot in summer.
Trippa in Milan's Porta Romana is Diego Rossi's offal-led trattoria, opened 2015 with cucina povera reimagined. The vitello tonnato and trippa-Florentine still ancho
Signature: Vitello tonnato, Trippa alla fiorentina, Mondeghili
Order: The vitello tonnato, the trippa alla fiorentina and the mondeghili Milanese meatballs.
Tip: Bookings open 60 days ahead on the website; sells out within hours. Walk-up bar seats open at 19:30 for early birds.
Da Giacomo in Milan's Porta Venezia is the Tuscan-seafood dining room of the Bulgheroni family, opened 1989 and a Milanese fashion-week institution.
Signature: Spaghetti allo scoglio, Cotoletta alla milanese, Fritto misto
Order: The spaghetti allo scoglio, the cotoletta alla milanese in the orecchio di elefante form and the fritto misto.
Tip: Bookings open three weeks ahead. The Bistrot Da Giacomo next door is the easier walk-up sister room.
More cities are in research. Want mondeghili covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.