When looking for the definition of Polpette I came across these two descriptions:
Meatballs or Rissole.
A Meatball is ground meat rolled into a small ball, sometimes along with other ingredients, such as bread crumbs, minced onion, eggs, butter, and seasoning. Meatballs are cooked by frying, baking, steaming, or braising in sauce. There are many types of meatballs using different types of meats and spices.
A Rissole is a small patty enclosed in pastry, or rolled in breadcrumbs, usually baked or deep fried. The filling has savoury ingredients, most often minced meat, fish or cheese, and is served as an entrée, main course, or side dish.
Meatballs are cooked by frying, baking, steaming, or braising in sauce and/or soup. There are many types of meatballs using different types of meats and spices.
The term is sometimes extended to meatless versions based on vegetables (Vegiballs) or fish (Fishballs). You can also use Chicken or Turkey mince.
Retrieve a teaspoon full of the mince mixture (dough) and place it in the palm of your hand. Gently form that dough (by using your other hand as well) into a small ball (about 2cm in diameter). Place each ball on a tray, but keep them separate. Repeat until all the dough is used. Be careful not to overwork the dough, to avoid making your meatballs dense and tough, but the meatballs do need to be formed tightly enough that they won’t fall apart during cooking. You’ll get the hang of it after trying it once.
PS… Wet your hands (between each ball) so that the dough doesn’t stick, and this also makes it easier to shape the individual balls.