Lidia Bastianich's Italian American Meatloaf & Boos Board Giveaway

By: The Food Hunter

I recently wrote a post discussing the importance of using quality knives; equally important is the surface you use those knives on. I’ve been through many cutting boards over the years but none have been as amazing as the Boos block I recently received.

As you can imagine I do a lot of chopping so a durable board is important to me. My new Boos block is 2 1/4" thick and made of maple; it provides a nice wide cutting space and has helper handles on the side to make it easy to carry. Did I mention it’s also dual sided?



Enough shop talk, let's move on to the real reason we are here: meatloaf! I came across this Italian inspired meatloaf from Lidia Bastianich and decided to make it for a dinner party I was having. I know what you are thinking, meatloaf for a dinner party? Yes! This recipe is not for the boring meatloaf you grew up with as a kid it's for a moist loaf made with both ground beef & pork, a handful of chopped vegetables. The secrete to why this meatloaf is so moist? There's tomato sauce cooked into it.



Italian American Meatloaf
(courtesy of Lidia Bastianich)

2 cups cubes of country bread with crust
1 cup milk
2 medium carrots, cut into chunks
1 medium onion, cut into chunks
2 medium stalks celery, cut into chunks
1½ pounds ground beef
1½ pounds ground pork
1 bunch scallions, trimmed and chopped
1 cup grated Grana Padano or Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 cup pureed canned tomatoes
½ cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Put the bread cubes in a medium bowl, and pour the milk over them. Let the bread soak until it is soft. Meanwhile, combine the carrots, celery, and onion in a food processor, and pulse to make a fine- textured paste or pestata.

When the bread is soft, squeeze out the excess milk and put the bread in a large mixing bowl. Mix the pestata, ground meats, scallions, grated cheese, marinara sauce, parsley, salt, and oregano with the bread, using your hands to distribute all of the ingredients evenly. Oil a 10- by- 15- inch Pyrex or ceramic baking dish with the olive oil. Form the meat mixture into a loaf in the oiled pan.

Place in the oven, and bake until browned and cooked through (the center of the meatloaf should read 165 degrees F on an instant- read thermometer), about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before slicing.


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