Polpettone or Italian Meatloaf

Polpette are meatballs and polpettone is meatloaf. 

The second year I lived in Foggia a middle-aged woman attended one of my EFL classes. She twitched and blinked like a sparrow and every time I spoke to her in English she would giggle nervously: 'Che dice - what did she say?'  She once pinched my cheek when leaving class, so I was not an immediate fan since I resent unsolicited physical contact. Over time though, she became a friend -  possibly because she lent a tirelessly sympathetic ear to me when I broke up with my boyfriend. She also cooked incredible food. She had a propensity for oversharing and adopting stray dogs that would pee ungratefully all over her gorgeous apartment. Thinking back it was a not a healthy friendship, based on co-dependency and a transaction her food for my company. Her polpette bianche were a particular favorite. This recipe is the same as those polpette but I choose to cook it as a meatloaf since it saves time and the big slabs are more gratifying.

The loaf is part steamed in wine. That and the addition of the milk-soaked breadcrumbs make for a luscious and moist loaf. Leaving it to stand before serving means the juices will seep back into the meat without it losing its shape.  

Serves 4
For the load itself:
1 pound ground pork
1 pound ground beef
1 egg
1/4 cup white breadcrumbs soaked in milk to form a thick porridge
1 tbsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
1 tbsp fresh sage, finely chopped
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, finely shredded
1 large slice of mortadella or ham, finely chopped
1/2 tsp each of salt and pepper
Pre-heat the oven to 400 F

• Put all the above ingredients into a large mixing bowl
  
• Remove any rings or bracelets, plunge you hands into the mixture and squelch through your hands until well-amalgamated. You could also use a wooden spoon but you won't get the same even mixing.
  

For cooking the loaf:
1 tbsp butter
1 small glass of wine
1 loaf tin/dish
foil

• Use the butter do grease your loaf tin/dish and enough foil to cover the top
  
• Put your meatloaf mixture into the tin and press in to be even
  
• Pour the wine over the loaf
  
• Cover with foil
  
• Bake for about 45 minutes
• Leave to stand for 10 minutes
• Remove foil and carefully remove the loaf to a warm plate
• Pour the juices into a small pan or put your tin directly onto a burner if heat-resistant
• Reduce the juices until you have a thickish gravy
• Slice the loaf and plate up
• Drizzle over the gravy