Polpettone

I don’t need to cook when I am in Italy because I am often invited to meals or because we eat out, but I take a look at what other people prepare and copy the recipe, or even better, adapt it to my Anglo-Italian cooking style.

My mother made a fantastic polpettone one day so I asked her for the recipe.   The word polpettone means a big polpetta (meat ball) because the main ingredient, mince, is what we use with meat balls.  Actually it looks like a chubby meatloaf and the word is reminiscent of “a dog’s dinner”...a typical Italian wordplay.  There is no messing about with the recipe, though!

It is a quick tasty dish which you can prepare in large quantities and freeze, as I usually do.

For four people you need.

250 g of minced beef, 250 g of minced pork, one bread roll soaked in a little milk and water, salt, pepper, parsley, 2 tbsp of parmigiano, one clove of garlic, rosemary and oregano, 5 tbsp of white wine, 100 g of ham (or mortadella), one egg, 2 tbsp of flour and olive oil and butter to fry.

Mix the minced beef and pork in a large bowl, add salt (about a tsp), pepper, parsley, parmigiano and the egg.  Chop the ham and add it to the mixture. Squeeze the bread roll and add it to the mixture. Mix everything with your hands and form a thick loaf (or two loaves).  Roll it in the flour and fry with oil and butter on both sides for 10-15 minutes.  Finally bake it in the oven (150°C) for forty-five minutes on a greased oven tray with garlic, white wine, oil, rosemary and oregano.  When it is cool cut it in slices and serve it with its juices.

Good side dishes are green peas cooked with butter and roasted sliced potatoes.