Polpettone Two Ways Recipes

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.)

POLPETTONE ALLA TOSCANO, OR EASY ITALIAN MEATBALLS RECIPE

Steps:

• Soak the breadcrumbs in milk for five minutes. Strains and squeeze to remove excess milk, then loosen crumbed and spread over a plate.
• In a large bowl, mix together with the beef, prosciutto, salt, egg, parsley and Parmesan cheese. Mix well with your hands.
• Moisten your hands with a little water and form the meat into 8 meatballs of the same size. Be sure to pack them well and not leave any openings, otherwise the meatballs will fall apart while cooking. Place the flour into a small bowl and roll the meatballs lightly in the flour until evenly coated.
• In a large sauté pan with a lid, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Gently brown meatballs all over, allowing a nice, savory crust to form. Turn the heat to low.
• To the pan add the carrot and onion. Cook gently just until the vegetables start to brown, then pour in white wine and tomato sauce. Allow to cook, uncovered, for 5 minutes, nudging occasionally with a spatula to keep them from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Gently turn meatballs over, cover the pan, and finish cooking until they are cooked through, about 7 more minutes, again nudging to prevent sticking. If you like, you can remove the meatballs from the pan and continue cooking the sauce, uncovered, until it thickens.
• Allow meatballs to rest for 5 minutes before serving. Serve meatballs hot, covered with tomato sauce and garnished with parmesan cheese. Also, feel free to serve these bad boys on a sandwich with a little provolone, which is most definitely Italian!

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 TWO WAYS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the bread with 1/2 cup of the milk and break apart with your fingers. Mix well and allow the bread to soak for 5 minutes. Add the shallots, garlic, egg, prosciutto, Parmesan and 1/4 teaspoon salt and mix with a wooden spoon to evenly distribute the prosciutto. Add the turkey and parsley and mix well. Divide the mixture into 2 even oblong loaves.
• Heat 2 medium skillets over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter to each pan. Add a loaf to each pan and cook on all sides until golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Divide the white wine between the two pans and cook until reduced by half. Add the remaining 2 cups milk and 1/4 teaspoon salt to one of the pans and bring to a simmer. Add the marinara to the other pan and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat under each pan to medium low and cover the pans. Braise until an instant-read thermometer registers 160 degrees in the center of each loaf, about 25 minutes, carefully flipping the loaves about halfway through.
• Remove the loaves from the pan and allow them to rest 10 minutes before slicing. Remove the marinara from the heat and stir with a wooden spoon. Simmer the remaining milk, uncovered, until it reduces by half. It will be slightly brown and look broken. Using an immersion blender, blend the milk until fully emulsified and creamy. Serve each polpettone with its respective sauce.