Slow cooked meatloaf

Preamble
This is a dish which Scott likes to cook for friends on Sundays when the restaurant is closed. It comes from his mother originally, though he has adapted it over the years.

Scott Minervini

Slow cooked meatloaf

This is a dish which Scott likes to cook for friends on Sundays when the restaurant is closed. It comes from his mother originally, though he has adapted it over the years.

Ingredients

1kg minced veal or beef (veal brisket, finely hand minced is best)
a nice handful of speck or pancetta, chopped very finely, about 50% fat
6 tomatoes peeled and chopped
1 large white bread roll
1 large onion, chopped
2 clove garlic, chopped
salt and pepper
150g grated parmesan ( pecorino is OK), perhaps a little more to season
2 large eggs
bread crumbs
olive oil
150ml wine, either red or white
two pieces lemon peel, thumb size
some brown cultivated mushrooms and/or porcini mushrooms; or mixed dried cepe, morels etc. or a truffle if you are feeling rich!boiled new potatoes to serve

Method

Soak the bread roll in water until it is saturated.

Squeeze out excess water and add to the meat with the eggs, garlic, onion, cheese, speck/pancetta, and season all with salt and pepper.

Mix it well, then take a small piece and fry it to check seasoning, it may need a little more salt, pepper or cheese.

Lay the breadcrumbs on a tray and work the meat into a cylinder or loaf shape, covering it in crumbs.

Fry the mushrooms in a very little butter or oil and retain the juice.

If using porcini mushrooms soak about a handful in hot water for 20 minutes.

Squeeze them out and drain the liquid through a very fine sieve.

Rinse the squeezed out porcini well and add them with their liquid with the tomatoes and wine and the cultivated mushrooms if using both.

Heat some oil in a heavy casserole, cast iron if possible, and gently brown the meat loaf all over, then add the wine and the tomatoes, then the mushrooms and the peel.

Let it boil, then bring it all to a very gentle simmer and cook either in a gentle oven or on top of the stove dead slow for nearly 2 hours.

After the time you will have the meatloaf and a lovely sauce.

If there is a little too much liquid remove the meat loaf and reduce the sauce a little.

For a more elegant presentation you can puree the sauce, put the meat loaf on a platter and serve at the table, passing the sauce separately.

You could try cooking this in a doefeu* (a cast iron pot with a hollow lid – originally used on a coal hearth with charcoal in the recessed lid. If one puts ice in the lid, the food in the pot is constantly moistened by fine drops of condensing liquid from in the pot. The method is slow but delicous and requires a minimum of cooking liquid which gives you an incredibly moist result.

Serve with boiled new potatoes.