Lucca Matuffi with Meat Sauce is a typical polenta preparation from my city Lucca, an autumn and winter recipe that warms the heart. It is a dish made of layers of polenta alternated with layers of meat sauce. A great dinner saver, you can consider it a single dish if you prepare a nice plate, in small quantities it is also excellent as an appetizer. In this recipe, the polenta must be soft and velvety like a cream, in fact it should not have the same cooking as classic polenta.
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- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very cheap
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 4 people
- Cooking methods: Stovetop, Slow Cooking
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter
Ingredients for Lucca Matuffi with Meat Sauce
- 10.5 oz ground beef
- 21.2 oz fine tomato pulp
- 1 onion
- 1 carrot
- 1 stalk celery
- to taste oregano
- 1/3 cup white wine
- 2 leaves bay leaves (optional)
- to taste extra virgin olive oil
- to taste salt
- 8.8 oz cornmeal
- 6.3 cups water
- to taste extra virgin olive oil
- to taste coarse salt
- to taste grated Parmesan cheese
Tools
- 1 High-sided Casserole
- 1 Pot
- 1 Spoon
Preparation of Lucca Matuffi with Meat Sauce
Let’s see how to prepare the matuffi.
First, chop carrot, onion, and celery and sauté with a little oil, add the ground beef and brown it. When it changes color, pour in the white wine and let it evaporate, then add salt, oregano, and tomato, and cook over low heat for about 90 minutes. 20 minutes before the end of cooking, add the bay leaf, if you don’t like it you can omit it, adjust the salt to taste, if necessary add a little water or more tomato because it should not be dry.
When the meat sauce is halfway cooked, prepare the polenta, in a large pot put the water and bring it to a boil, then add the salt and 2 tablespoons of oil to help prevent lumps, pour the cornmeal in a stream while stirring continuously with a spoon or a whisk. Cook over very low heat, stirring continuously for the time indicated on your cornmeal package, keep in mind that for matuffi the polenta should be soft and smooth, not hard, so if needed add a little water. When it’s ready, take the plates and put a spoonful of meat sauce, then a ladle of polenta, more meat sauce with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese, more polenta and again meat sauce and Parmesan until you reach the layers you want, I usually make 3. For the last layer, add plenty of meat sauce and Parmesan, you can also drizzle a little oil if you like. The matuffi are ready to be served.
Notes
You can also make the meat sauce with your own recipe, the important thing is to make it more liquid, not dry, to moisten the polenta. If you’re short on time, I recommend preparing the meat sauce beforehand and heating it when you make the polenta. If you have leftover matuffi, store them in the fridge covered with plastic wrap until the next day, just reheat them and add a little meat sauce if needed.
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FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
Can I prepare matuffi with other toppings?
Absolutely, matuffi can be prepared with many toppings, with tomato, with mushrooms, with wild boar meat sauce, in short, it is very versatile. The important thing is that the topping should be very moist.
