Minervini Family Meat Loaf

With thanks to Scott Minervini at Lebrina Restaurant, Hobart, Tasmania. Serves 6

Ingredients

1 handful of speck or pancetta (approx 50% fat) chopped finely
1 large white bread roll
2 large eggs
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 large onion
1kg minced veal or beef
150g parmesan (or pecorino), grated
salt and pepper
100g breadcrumbs, approx
150g brown cultivated mushrooms and/or porcini mushrooms, mixed dried cepe, morels etc. or a truffle if you are feeling rich!
6 tomatoes, peeled and chopped
150ml wine (red or white)
2 thumb sized pieces lemon peel, without pith and cut into fine strips
nutmeg
45ml olive oil

Method

Lightly saute the speck or pancetta, save the fat that is rendered and later add it to the olive oil in which you fry the meat.

Soak the bread roll in water untill it's saturated. Squeeze out excess water and add the roll to the meat along with the eggs, garlic, onion, cheese, speck or pancetta,. Season with salt and pepper and mix well.

Take a small piece and fry it to check seasoning, it may need more salt, pepper or sheese.

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

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

If using porcini mushrooms, soak about a handful in hot for 20 minutes. Squeeze them out and drain the liquid through a very fine sieve. Rinse the porcini well and add them with their liquid to the tomatoes and wine and fried cultivated mushrooms.

Heat some oil in a heavy saucepan (cast iron if possible), and gently brown the meat loaf all over, then add the tomatoes and mushrooms, then the lemon peel and nutmeg. Let it boil, then bring it all to a gentle simmer and cook in either a gentle oven or on top of the stove, dead slow, for nearly two hours. After that time you will have the meat loaf and a lovely sauce. If there is too much liquid, remove the meatloaf and reduce.

Serve with new boiled potatoes.

Notes

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 seperately.

You should try cooking this in a doefu - 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 condesing liquid from in the pot. This method is slow but delicious and requires a minimum of cooking liquid, which gives you an incredibly moist result.