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.

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.

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