Cooked Ham Meatloaf

The cooked ham meatloaf is a variant of the original meat polpettone and is a versatile and tasty dish. Let’s see together the ingredients and the preparation to make it.

Ingredients

• 300 g chopped cooked ham
• 250 g ground veal or pork meat
• 100 g grated Parmesan cheese
• 100 g stale bread
• Milk, enough to soak the bread
• 2 eggs
• Chopped parsley, to taste
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Nutmeg, to taste (optional)
• Extra virgin olive oil or butter, to grease the baking dish
• Breadcrumbs, for the topping (optional)

Preparation

1. Start by soaking the stale bread in milk until it softens. Squeeze it well to remove excess milk.
2. In a large bowl, mix the chopped cooked ham with the ground meat.
3. Add the grated Parmesan cheese, the soaked bread, the eggs, the chopped parsley, salt, pepper and a pinch of nutmeg if you like.
4. Combine all the ingredients well until you obtain a homogeneous mixture. If necessary, adjust the salt and pepper.
5. Prepare a baking dish greased with oil or butter and place your mixture, shaping it into an elongated meatloaf.
6. If desired, you can also sprinkle the surface of the meatloaf with breadcrumbs to obtain a crispier crust.
7. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 °C for about 40-50 minutes, until the surface is golden and crispy.
8. Once cooked, let it cool for a few minutes before slicing and serving it.

Fun Facts

The meatloaf is a very common dish on Italian tables, especially during festive occasions. Every family has its own traditional version of the meatloaf, often passed down from generation to generation. Furthermore, it can be enriched with ingredients such as mozzarella, hard-boiled eggs or spinach according to personal tastes.

For an even more Italian touch, you could also cover the meatloaf with slices of raw ham just before finishing cooking, or accompany it with a fresh tomato sauce, to take advantage of the contrast between the savory flavor of the ham and the acidity of the tomatoes. Bon appétit!