A tasty Tuscan meatloaf with mushroom sauce. This recipe has an unusual twist of cooking the meatloaf on the stovetop.
My father pulled this Tuscan meatloaf recipe by Marcella Hazan from the New York Times magazine a few months ago and we gave it a try the other night. It was excellent, as tasty as a meatloaf can be.
It does however produce twice as much sauce as one can reasonably use with the meatloaf. We had ours the next day with pasta.
One of the things I like about this recipe is that it is made entirely on the stove top. Most meat loaf recipes are made in the oven, but as the warmer months approach it’s nice to have a stovetop alternative.
Tuscan Meatloaf with Mushroom Sauce Recipe
- Prep time: 20 minutes
- Cook time: 50 minutes
- Mushroom Soaking time: 30 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4
Recipe by Marcella Hazan.
Ingredients
- 2 oz dried wild mushrooms
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 tablespoon milk
- One 2-in square of white bread, crust removed
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped yellow onion
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons chopped prosciutto or unsmoked ham
- 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/4 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 lightly beaten egg yolk
- 1/2 cup unflavored bread crumbs
- 4 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1/3 cup dry white wine
Method
1 Soak the dried mushrooms in two cups of lukewarm water for half an hour or more.
2 Make the meatloaf mixture: In a bowl, break up the beef with a fork.
In a small bowl, combine the milk and bread, and mash until creamy.
Add the milk and bread to the meat, along with the onion, salt, pepper, prosciutto, cheese, and garlic. Mix thoroughly by hand.
Mix in the lightly beaten egg yolk.
3 Form in to a loaf shape: Shape meat into a firm, round ball; then roll this into a salami-like loaf about two and a half inches thick. Tap with your palm to drive out any air bubbles. Roll the loaf in the bread crumbs until evenly coated.
4 Drain and chop the mushrooms: Drain the mushrooms (reserving the soaking water) and rinse them several times in clean, cold water. Chop the mushrooms roughly and set aside.
Strain the soaking water through a fine sieve lined with paper towels. Whisk the tomato paste into the soaking liquid and set aside.
5 Brown the meatloaf in butter: Heat the butter and oil in a Dutch oven or heavy casserole pan just big enough for the meat. Brown the meatloaf on all sides in the pan over medium heat after the butter foam subsides.
6 Add wine and reduce: Add the wine. Increase heat to medium high. Boil wine briskly until reduced one half, turning meatloaf carefully once or twice.
7 Add the chopped mushrooms and tomato mushroom water: Turn heat to medium low and add chopped mushrooms. Add the tomato paste mushroom water to the meat and mushrooms.
8 Cover and cook at a simmer for 30 minutes, turning the meat once or twice.
9 Let rest on a cutting board before slicing: Carefully remove meat to a cutting board. Allow it to cool slightly and settle. Cut into slanted slices about 3/8 of an inch thick.
If the sauce seems thin, concentrate it by boiling rapidly for a few minutes. Pour a little sauce on a warm serving platter, arrange the meat slices, then cover the remainder of the sauce.
