Meatloaf with Ricotta

By á-58

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 1/2 cups day-old bread cubes
• 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
• 2 large eggs, beaten with a pinch of salt
• 1 cup fresh ricotta
• 1/2 cup chopped scallions
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley, plus extra for garnish
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1 cup fresh mozzarella, cut into small cubes
• 1/8 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 cups warm tomato sauce

Details

Servings 4
Preparation time 40mins
Cooking time 85mins

Preparation

Step 1

1.Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2.Pour the milk over the bread cubes and let soak for a few minutes until the bread is saturated. Squeeze the soft bread a handful at a time, pressing out as much milk as you can, crumble bread into crumbs with your fingers and return to the bowl.

3.Add the ground beef to the bowl, breaking it up into small pieces as you add it. Add the eggs, ricotta, scallions, grated cheese, parsley, nutmeg, salt, and pepper and mix everything together (your clean hands are the very best for this!

4.Add the mozzarella cubes and work them through the meat mixture until they are evenly distributed.

5.Place a metal cooling rack in a roasting pan and brush it with olive oil. Shape the meat mixture into an oval loaf and lay it on the rack. Brush the loaf with olive oil and cover the roasting pan with foil, tenting it up so it doesn’t touch the meat loaf. Bake for 45 minutes.

6.Remove the foil and bake for another 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, cover again with the foil and let the meat loaf rest for 15 minutes.

7.Slice thickly and pour the tomato sauce on top. Garnish with more chopped parsley and serve.