Veal Meatloaf - Polpettone di Vitello
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
An ideal one pan dinner perfect for family dinners and guests.
Author:
Serves: 6 to 8
Ingredients
  • 2½ lbs., ground veal
  • 3 large eggs
  • 3 Tbs. olive oil
  • 3 thick slices of day old country bread, crusts removed
  • ¼ cup dry white wine
  • ½ medium onion, chopped and sautéed until golden brown in a bit of olive oil
  • 3 Tbs. Italian parsley leaves, chopped
  • Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
  • ¼ tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
  • 5 thin carrots - trimmed, peeled and partially boiled
  • 1½ pounds small Yukon Gold potatoes, wash and with skins intact
  • 1 lemon thinly sliced
  • 1 lemon thinly sliced and then cut the slices into quarters
  • Olive oil
  • Salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
  1. Place the potatoes in pot filled with water, bring to a boil, add salt and gently boil for 5 minutes. Drain the potatoes, cut the larger ones in half, drizzle the potatoes with a bit of olive oil and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper - set aside.
  2. Place the day old bread in a bowl along with the ¼ cup of white wine and enough water to just cover, break up the bread into large irregular pieces with your hands. Soak for about 10 minutes then remove the soaked bread squeezing the excess liquid from the sponge like pieces and reserve. The bread is now soft, damp and easily broken into small wet crumbs.
  3. Place the veal, eggs, lemon zest, nutmeg, 3 tablespoons of olive oil, wet bread crumbs, parsley, sautéed onions, salt and pepper into a large bowl and mix together with your hands. Combine the mixture well but do not compact together.
  4. Preheat the oven to 375º
  5. Oil a large heavy duty baking sheet or roasting pan. Take the meatloaf mixture and form it into a rectangle in the center of the pan. Insert the partially boiled carrots through the newly formed meatloaf from both ends in an irregular pattern. Surround the uncooked meatloaf with the seasoned potatoes and sliced lemon quarters. Arrange the sliced lemons over the top of the polpottone and drizzle everything with a bit more olive oil. Place in the preheated oven for about 1 hour, until the meatloaf and potatoes are brown and the lemons begin to caramelize.
Recipe by LaBellaSorella at http://labellasorella.com/2017/02/veal-meatloaf/