Polpettone Vegetable Loaf Italy Recipes

ITALIAN MEATLOAF (POLPETTONE)

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a small pot of boiling water, boil the zucchini and potatoes. The zucchini will be finished before the other vegetables. Remove the zucchini when it's tender and set aside in a small bowl.
• In a medium sized bowl, stir together the ground meat, parsley, rosemary, breadcrumbs, chopped onion. Add in the zucchini and one of the potatoes. Add in the eggs, cheese, salt, pepper and rosemary and stir until combined.
• Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Scoop out 1/2 of the meatloaf mixture and pat it into a rectangle about 9 inches long by 4 inches wide.
• Line the hard-boiled eggs in the center of the meatloaf. Line up one of the carrots cut into slivers next to the eggs. With your hands add on the rest of the meatloaf mixture and pat it on top covering the eggs. Make sure no parts of the eggs are peaking out.
• Place the rest of the potatoes, carrots and onions around the meat loaf in the pan. Add the wine around the pan and drizzle the olive oil on the meatloaf and around the vegetables.
• Bake for 35-40 minutes in the center rack of the oven (until internal temperature is 150 degrees), basting occasionally with the pan juices.
• Remove the dish from the oven. Transfer the meat loaf to a cutting board, and let it rest for at least 15 minutes.
• Puree with an immersion blender (or in your blender)the vegetables that were in the pan and the juices. I had just made pumpkin soup that day and a added about a 1/4 cup of the soup to the juices from the pan to blend all together. If you don't have any pumpkin soup on hand, you could add broth or even a little water. Heat the sauce on medium-low before serving.
• Cut into thick slices. Arrange on a serving plate with the sauce on the bottom and serve with mashed potatoes.

POLPETTONE -- VEGETABLE LOAF (ITALY)

Steps:

• In a steamer, cook beans until al dente, about 10-12 minutes; spread to dry on a kitchen cloth before finely chopping them.
• In a large skillet over medium-high temperature, heat the oil and cook the onion, stirring occasionally, until golden.
• Add garlic and marjoram and saute for another minute or so before adding the beans.
• Saute beans 2 or 3 minutes; transfer to a large mixing bowl to cool.
• Add mushrooms, both cheeses, potatoes and eggs.
• Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Grease a 10-inch round baking dish with a little olive oil.
• Sprinkle half of the breadcrumbs over the bottom of the baking dish.
• Spread the vegetable mixture in the prepared baking dish.
• Level the top and decorate with a few shallow geometric incisions.
• Dot all over with butter; drizzle with a little olive oil; sprinkle the rest of the breadcrumbs over the top.
• Bake 20 to 30 minutes or until the loaf has set but is still moist inside. Serve warm or at room temperature.

POLPETTONE WITH SPINACH AND PROVOLONE

Steps:

• Put bread cubes in a small bowl, cover with cream and set aside to soak until softened, about 10 minutes.
• Put beef, pork and veal in a mixing bowl. Season with salt, pepper, cayenne, nutmeg, rosemary, thyme, sage and parsley. Add Parmesan and, using hands, knead seasoning into meat. Combine soaked bread (and any remaining cream) with beaten eggs, then pour mixture over seasoned meat and knead until well combined.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-by-18-inch baking sheet with parchment or foil. Press ground meat mixture evenly over parchment to make a flat rectangle slightly smaller than the baking sheet. Top with slices of mortadella. Scatter cooked spinach evenly over mortadella. Break provolone slices into rough pieces and distribute over surface. Finish with hard-cooked egg chopped into chunks.
• Using parchment to help, roll the meat into a long cylinder with filling on the inside. With the long side facing you, first lift parchment and use it to roll meat to the center, pressing down to keep it in place. Then lift parchment on the opposite long side, bringing meat just past the center to overlap itself slightly. Pinch the "seam" of the meat together to keep filling in place. Sprinkle with half the dry crumbs. You will now have a cylinder approximately 15 inches long. Twist ends of parchment to firm the mixture, then transfer to a deep-sided baking dish or roasting pan, and place it seam-side down. Carefully remove and discard parchment. With hands, press firmly to form cylinder into a long loaf with rounded ends. Dust top and sides with remaining bread crumbs. (The polpettone may be prepared to this point several hours, or up to 24 hours, in advance; keep refrigerated and bring to room temperature before baking.)
• Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until internal temperature is 140 degrees. Let rest for 10 minutes and cut into 1-inch-thick slices and serve. (Alternatively, cool to room temperature and refrigerate for up to 3 days. If serving cold, cut thinner slices.)

ITALIAN MEATLOAF WITH POTATOES - POLPETTONE CON PATATE

Steps:

• Place ground beef in bowl with all ingredients except mashed potatoes, Provolone cheese, Ricotta or cottage cheese, and olive oil. Mix thoroughly.
• Grease 8 x 10 inch oblong or 9 x 9 inch square casserole with 2 T olive oil.
• Mix together mashed potatoes with Ricotta or cottage cheese.
• Pat half the meat mixture over bottom of casserole. Spread mashed potato/Ricotta mixture over this, but do leave at least 1/2 inch border around the edges free. Sprinkle with shredded Provolone - leave at least 1/2 inch border around the edges free. Cover with remaining meat mixture and press down edges so that potato cheese mixture does not seep out during baking.
• Drizzle with remaining olive oil and bake at 350 F for 1 hour or until golden brown. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
• There may be mashed potato/ricotta cheese mixture all around the edge of the casserole when done depending on how well it was sealed. You can serve this separately or serve right next to the meat loaf.