Meatloaf Parmesan
- Total Time
- 2½ hours
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
Advertisement
Ingredients
- 1pound ground veal, or substitute ground beef or turkey
- 1pound ground pork
- 2teaspoons kosher salt
- ½teaspoon black pepper
- Healthy pinch of red-pepper flakes
- 1teaspoon crushed fennel seed
- ⅛teaspoon nutmeg
- 1cup dry bread, cut in ½-inch cubes, soaked in 1 cup milk until softened
- 2eggs, beaten
- 3tablespoons chopped parsley
- ½teaspoon dried oregano
- 5ounces cooked broccoli rabe or spinach, blanched, squeezed dry and chopped (about ¾ cup)
- 1cup pitted green olives, roughly chopped
- 1ounce grated Parmesan (about 1 cup)
- 5ounces provolone, cut in ¼-inch dice (about 1 cup)
- 5bay leaves
- 4tablespoons olive oil
- 1cup diced onion
- 1whole garlic clove
- Salt, to taste
- 2½cups tomato purée
- 1½cups crushed tomatoes
- Pinch of red-pepper flakes
- 1basil sprig
- 1ounce grated pecorino (about 1 cup)
- 4ounces grated provolone (about ¾ cup)
- ½cup dry bread crumbs
- Basil leaves, for garnish (optional)
For the Meatloaf
For the Sauce
For the Topping
Opt out or contact us anytime. See our Privacy Policy.
Opt out or contact us anytime. See our Privacy Policy.
Preparation
- Step 1
Put veal and pork in a large mixing bowl. Add salt, black pepper, red pepper, fennel seed and nutmeg. Knead mixture with hands to incorporate.
- Step 2
Add soaked bread with milk, eggs, parsley, oregano, broccoli rabe, olives, Parmesan and provolone. Mix again with hands and knead to make sure all ingredients are distributed evenly. Pat mixture into a free-form loaf and place in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Press bay leaves on top. You may complete this step several hours, or a day in advance, of baking.
- Step 3
Make tomato sauce: Put olive oil in a nonreactive pan over medium heat. Add onions, garlic clove and a little salt, then cook, stirring, until translucent, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add tomato purée, crushed tomatoes, red-pepper flakes and basil sprig. Simmer for 10 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning. Sauce may be made in advance, if desired.
- Step 4
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Spoon sauce over meatloaf, letting it spill over into the baking dish to surround loaf. Sprinkle top of loaf with grated pecorino and provolone, then sprinkle with bread crumbs.
- Step 5
Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes, then cover, reduce heat to 350 and cook for 30 to 45 minutes more, until internal temperature is 150 degrees. Let rest at least 10 minutes before slicing. Top each serving with a good spoonful of sauce and garnish with basil leaves, if using.
Private Notes
Comments
Do you know where I can get an oval tin like that in the photo? Ours went missing during our moving and we haven't been able to fins a replacement. Thanks.
Ground turkey, instead of veal, is a good way to go here. (If you crave more richness, use a bit of heavy cream with the milk.) Gruyere is a very good substitute for pecorino, which can be both chalky and extra-salty. Broccoli rabe is a bitter ingredient you will have to explain to any children who might be dining with you.
Add cablabrian chili to the tomato sauce.
Well, this recipe really was like cutting into giant meatball! Too salty though with the cheeses, I recommend reducing salt to no more than 1 teaspoon. I used .5 lb of ground veal, pork and turkey, so this should have been ok with the salt. Not so. Good meatloaf though, if you like the Italian version, I used frozen spinach because it was in the freezer, and Gruyere to replace the provolone.
I really liked this meatloaf, nice texture. I used ground beef instead of turkey. The tomato sauce was tart and aromatic.
i followed the instructions EXACTLY.... maybe because i used organic turkey which is leaner the meatloaf was extremely dry..... going back to my mixed recipe with beef and pork...
Advertisement