Meatballs with taste of Italian soul and Irish attitude
Gourmet Italian meatballs from the US have been given a taste of Northern Irish quality assured beef by Petruzzi's Family Recipes and launched at the recent International Food Expo (IFE) in London.
The meatballs with Italian soul and Irish attitude have been developed from recipes created in Pennyslvania by one of the US state's best- known Italian families. Petruzzi's Family Recipes is the latest addition to Northern Ireland's rapidly growing portfolio of artisan foods from around the world.
They authentic recipes have been brought to Northern Ireland by Melissa McCullough, a fourth generation Petruzzi, and are scheduled to go on sale in Sainsbury's stores over the next few months as a result of the artisan food company's participation in a special supplier development programme involving Invest Northern Ireland and the UK leading retailer.
Mrs McCullough, who has lived in Northern Ireland for 16 years, says: "Petruzzi's meatballs are made from an authentic Italian recipe that has followed the Petruzzi family from Italy to America and now to Ireland--half way across the world and back again."
She's the great granddaughter of Theresa and Dominic Petruzzi of Pennsylvania and has brought the authentic family recipes to Northern Ireland, using the finest locally sourced ingredients.
"In 1902, like millions before and since, the Petruzzi family left Anzio in Northern Italy to seek a better life for their young family in America. They were on a journey, of course, which many Irish families also took," she says.
The Petruzzi family settled in Hazelton, Pennsylvania, a coal mining community that also attracted many Irish immigrants, where their daughter Theresa Petruzzi met and married Dominick Petruzzi - a very distant relative. They opened Petruzzi's Italian Delicatessen serving Theresa's traditional family recipes - including her meatballs and Dominick's distinctive Italian sausages.
Melissa is the great granddaughter of Theresa and Dominick and has returned to her European roots, now living in Northern Ireland and bringing back the handed down traditional family recipes that she has made many times with her own grandparents, Jimmy and Carmella, and her mother Donna - the same family recipes that make Petruzzi's truly irresistible.
"Our products are of the highest quality and are made with the finest of fresh ingredients and the best Irish beef sourced from the green fields of Northern Ireland," she says.
"The recipe is perfected by using only tender and delicious 100 per cent Farm Quality Assured Northern Irish beef. The sauce is also made to our family recipe by another local company. This means our products have a rich heritage with full traceability and the sort of provenance that consumers demand.
"Taking part in IFE gave us a tremendous opportunity to reach out to a wider audience in Great Britain and further afield and to gain feedback on the meatballs. We were delighted by the extremely positive response from all those who tasted the products. We've a number of good business leads that we'll be following up over the next few weeks."
The gourmet meatballs, developed by the company, which was formed by Melissa McCullough last July, offer a prepared meal solution, not a ready meal. The meatballs are cooked in the oven for adding preferably to pasta to provide a really delicious Italian-style meal.
The meatballs come complete with a tasty and authentic Italian sauce that's also been in the Petruzzi family for generations. They are available in varieties that include the classic Petruzzi's Italian meatballs, spicy chilli version and an Old Timer with raisins. Initially the tubs, expected to retail around £5.95, will offer 12 meatballs, a tasty and authentic Italian meal for a family of four.