Italian meatloaf  

Italian cuisine is based on some pillars, even home cooking. Baked meatloaf is undoubtedly a great Sunday lunch classic, one of those dishes that tastes like home, grandmothers and family. In this case we offer you the simplest recipe, a meatloaf prepared only with meat, but depending on your tastes you can add different ingredients to create a tasty filling.

Any examples? Cheese and ham, or speck and scamorza cheese or maybe boiled eggs and vegetables. This Italian meatloaf is basically one big giant meatball, or at least that's what I tell my kids so they eat it. But, seriously, it's similar to meatballs, only it has a lot more flavor and is easier to make.

Baked meatloaf is a second course of meat typical of Italian cuisine, a great classic of the festive and Sunday table, prepared in every family with a personal recipe. Meatloaf is made from ground beef and pork, enriched with breadcrumbs, cheese, eggs, garlic and parsley. A filling makes the meatloaf even more succulent, delicious when accompanied by baked potatoes, both hot and at room temperature.

Baked meatloaf is an empty fridge recipe, easy to make and very versatile: you can choose to use common ingredients, often available at home; For the filling you can opt for soft or semi-mature cheeses, to prevent them from releasing too much water during cooking, ruining the external crust.

For an impeccable result, it is recommended to cook it wrapped in parchment paper: in this way the heat will spread evenly, preventing the surface from splitting. In this way you will also prevent it from drying out too much inside. Some small precautions in the procedure: here are the steps to follow to prepare a soft baked stuffed meatloaf.

Ingredients for 4 people:

400 g of minced meat

400 g of minced pork

200 g of homemade bread

1.5 dl of milk

80 g of grated Parmesan

2 eggs

minced garlic

extra virgin olive oil

parsley

Salt to taste

Pepper to taste

Method

In a large bowl, mix the two types of minced meat. Add the stale bread crumbs. Add the eggs and salt. Perfume with garlic and parsley, finely chopped, then add a little oil as well. Complete with grated cheese. Stir with a fork to mix the ingredients. Crush the meatloaf well to make it uniform. Spread the meat dough on a sheet of parchment paper and give the shape of a rectangle about 1 cm thick. Fill by laying on 2/3 of the surface the thin slices of cooked ham. Add also the slices of stringy cheese, leaving a few cm of emptiness at the top. With the help of baking paper, start rolling the meatloaf tightly. Once you have the classic cylindrical shape, shape it with your hands and seals the ends well. Move the meatloaf to a lightly oiled baking sheet.

 

Brush the surface with oil using a brush. Bake the meatloaf at 200 °C for about 20 minutes, then take it out of the oven and add all around the potatoes seasoned with oil, salt and rosemary. Distribute them well and put the meatloaf back in the oven for another 40 minutes. When there are a few minutes to the end of cooking, open the oven and check that the meatloaf is soft and that the meat has lost water. If not, let it cook a few more minutes, to make sure it is well cooked both inside and out. Take the meatloaf out of the oven, let it settle for a few minutes, then cut it into slices and serve with the potatoes.

Preservation

The meatloaf keeps in the fridge for 2 days in an airtight container. You can freeze it, both before and after cooking, if you have used fresh ingredients.

To consume it in the following days, cut it into slices, place them in the oven and heat them to 180 °C for 5-10 minutes, until the filling has lost its hardness.