'Polpettone' (Meat loaf) for a Summer dinner in the Mountains

To enjoy the wonderful weather in the Swiss Alps, yesterday I made a meat loaf (the Italian polpettone) with ricotta and minced  meat, wrapped in pancetta: it was a perfect dish for a summer family dinner in the mountains. Light and tasty, everybody loved it. Nothing was left. 

The secret: adding Dijon mustard to the mixture.

Ricotta polpettone 

500 g minced pork and beef 

500 g ricotta

120 g prosciutto cotto (cooked ham)

1 medium onion, peeled and quartered

30 g grated Parmesan

1 egg

1 yolk

3 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 handful flat leaf parsley, chopped

1 teaspoon fresh thyme

2 sage leaves, chopped

nut meg

salt and black pepper

150 g pancetta slices

Serves 6 to 7
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 40 minutes

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. In a blender, blend the prosciutto and the onion.
3. In a large bowl, with a fork mix together the meat, the prosciutto and onion blent, the Parmesan, the ricotta, the eggs, the mustard and the herbs. Sprinkle with the nutmeg and season to taste.
4. Grease a sheet of parchment with oil and arrange the meat on top. With your floured hands, shape the meat like a roll. Wrap with pancetta and lift the parchment with the meat into the loaf tin.
5. Bake for 40 minutes. The polpettone is cooked when it has shrunk from the sides of the pan.
6. Let it cool in the tin and then slice it. 
7. Arrange the slices, slightly overlapping, on a serving dish. Heat its sauce and pour it over the meat. 
8. Serve warm, with green salad and tomatoes.