Home

Stuffed meatloaf with sauce

17/11/2023

The stuffed meatloaf with sauce is a hearty and flavorful dish. Here is the recipe to prepare this delight of traditional Italian cuisine.

Ingredients

For the meatloaf:

  • 600 g of ground meat (mixed veal and pork)
  • 100 g of stale bread
  • Milk, enough to soften the bread
  • 50 g of grated parmesan cheese
  • 2 eggs
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Nutmeg to taste
  • Chopped parsley, to taste

For the filling:

  • 100 g of cooked ham, sliced
  • 100 g of scamorza or mozzarella cheese, sliced
  • Hard-boiled eggs, as needed (2-3 eggs)

For the sauce:

  • 500 ml of tomato puree
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
  • Salt to taste
  • Fresh basil

Preparation

  1. Start by placing the stale bread in a bowl and soften it with some milk. Let it rest until it has softened, then squeeze it well.

  2. In a large bowl, mix the ground meat with the squeezed bread, Parmesan cheese, eggs, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and chopped parsley. Work all the ingredients until a homogeneous mixture is obtained.

  3. Spread the meat mixture on a sheet of parchment paper forming a rectangle. Arrange the slices of cooked ham on top, then the slices of scamorza or mozzarella cheese and finally the hard-boiled eggs arranged in a row.

  4. With the help of the parchment paper, gently roll up the meatloaf giving it a cylindrical shape and close the ends well.

  5. In a large saucepan, sauté the chopped onion with extra virgin olive oil. Add the meatloaf and brown it on all sides.

  6. Add the tomato puree, adjust the salt, and cook covered on low heat for about 1 and a half hours, turning the meatloaf from time to time.

  7. At the end of cooking, remove the meatloaf and let it rest a few minutes before slicing. In the meantime, add the fresh basil to the sauce and stir.

  8. Serve slices of meatloaf with plenty of sauce and, if desired, a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese.

Curiosity

The meatloaf, just like its miniature version - the meatballs - is a dish that lends itself to numerous regional and family variations. In some versions it can be enriched with pine nuts and raisins, or with chopped spinach, which adds an additional touch of taste. In northern Italy, it is sometimes baked instead of cooked in the sauce, but cooking in the sauce makes it particularly tender and flavorful.