Ricotta Meatloaf

I dedicate this recipe to my forever friend Paola Faoro. She recently relocated to the other side of the Atlantic Ocean with her husband. Before leaving they stayed with us for a while and one of the nights I prepared Ricotta Meatloaf for them. While I was doing it Paola kept taking the pictures you’ll see throughout the recipe.

Start by bringing out, measuring and preparing all ingredients.

Ingredients needed for 8 people:

1. 500 g mince veal
2. 300 g chicken breast (preferably diced)
3. 100 g ricotta
4. 90 g ham
5. 1 courgette
6. 2 eggs
7. 2 slices of bread
8. parmesan cheese
9. milk
10. 4 green cardamom pods
11. nutmeg
12. salt & pepper
13. olive oil
14. cider vinegar
15. rocket

Kitchenware I use:

1. mortar and pestle
2. small pan
3. colander
4. food processor
5. scale
6. bowl
7. foil
8. knives

Open the green cardamom pods, remove the seeds, put in the mortar and grind to a fine powder with the pestle. Reserve.

Slice the courgette transversely (crosswise) – slices approximately 1cm thick – and then cut in small dice. Bring the pan with water to boil and blanch the courgette for 1 minute. Remove from the heat, with the colander remove the water – leave to one side.

Dice the ham and leave to one side.

Add milk – enough to soak well – to the bread slices. Leave until necessary.

Use the food processor to mince the chicken and then transfer it to a bowl.

Add the mince veal to the chicken and mix.

Squeeze the bread very well, add to the meat mixture and mix.

Beat in the eggs:

Mix well:

Add the ricotta:

And the parmesan:

Mix:

Finally add the ground cardamom, (…)

(…) the nutmeg and (…)

(…) the salt and pepper:

and mix very well 🙂

Now you’re all set to prepare the roll!!!

Prepare a rectangular sheet of foil, grease it with a little of olive oil and extend the meat mixture on the top of it leaving some space from the  edges :

Put the diced ham and courgettes on top of it, in the middle:

And then start rolling with the help of the foil:

When the roll is ready seal the meat at the ends and wrap it with the foil leaving it slightly open at the ends so the water released during the cooking time can escape..Put in a baking tray:

Cook it in the oven for 40 minutes at 200°C

When the time is up remove the baking tray from the oven and turn it off. Open the foil and put the tray back in the oven for 5 minutes – this will give a bit of colour to the meat. Remove the tray from the oven again and discard all the water released over cooking:

Slice the meat:I usually serve this meatloaf with rocket and a vinaigrette. To prepare the vinaigrette use the olive oil and cider vinegar in a 4:1 ratio and season with salt and pepper.

Plate the rocket with the meatloaf on the top:

And finally add the vinaigrette:

Most importantly… ENJOY 😉

You can prepare the meatloaf one day in advance and serve it either warm or cold.