Grandma Rita’s meatloaf, baked or air-fried.
Yes, my grandkids love it, but the adults enjoy it too. The classic Italian family meatloaf, in a light version as it’s neither fried nor made with sauce, yet it’s still flavorful, with ham, cheese, boiled eggs, and lots and lots of vegetables. Cooked wrapped in parchment paper, this meatloaf still turns out beautifully colored with a slight crust on the outside, without losing the internal moisture necessary to prevent it from becoming dry. An important part of this dish is the Sicilian seasoned breadcrumbs, click here to see how I make it.
It’s considered a complete dish surrounded by tasty and flavorful roasted potatoes.
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- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Very economical
- Rest time: 10 Minutes
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Electric oven, Air frying
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
- Energy 927.23 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 64.45 (g) of which sugars 7.83 (g)
- Proteins 60.42 (g)
- Fat 47.89 (g) of which saturated 20.27 (g)of which unsaturated 17.60 (g)
- Fibers 7.04 (g)
- Sodium 1,780.94 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 400 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
For the meatloaf mixture
- 14 oz ground beef
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
- 1 cup milk
- 3.5 oz stale bread
- 2 eggs
- to taste salt
- to taste roast seasonings
- to taste pepper
- 7 oz spinach
- 2 hard-boiled eggs
- 1 carrot (Boiled)
- 4 slices Cooked ham
- 7 oz Provolone cheese
- 1 lb Potatoes
- Roast seasonings
- to taste extra virgin olive oil
- to taste salt
- to taste pepper
Tools
What we need to make
- Oven
- Parchment paper
- Bowl
- Baking sheet
- 2 Pots small
- 1 Pan
Preparation of Grandma Rita’s Meatloaf
Let’s start the preparation by cooking the hard-boiled eggs, the carrots, and…
Wash the spinach under running water several times, and let them wilt in a pan with a piece of butter. Once wilted, season with salt and let them drain in a colander.
Put the stale bread cut into pieces in a bowl with the milk until it softens, then squeeze it and place it in a bowl.
Now that we have all the bases, start making the meatloaf.
Take good fresh ground meat, place it in a bowl, add the soaked and well-squeezed bread, the Sicilian breadcrumbs, 2 eggs, a pinch of salt and pepper, and start kneading.
Do not discard the remaining milk from the stale bread, as it can be used to further moisten the mixture.
Place the mixture on parchment paper and…
With damp hands, spread it out to form a square.
Spread the slices of ham on top.
The well-squeezed spinach.
Carrots cut lengthwise,
The provolone cheese also cut into sticks
and finally, in the center, the hard-boiled eggs cut in half.
Sprinkle with the seasonings, and with the help of the parchment paper, roll the meatloaf tightly, finishing with the ends like a candy.
Place it on a baking sheet with parchment paper underneath, peel and cut the potatoes, drizzle them with extra virgin olive oil, salt, and roast seasonings.
This is for oven cooking.
Place in a preheated oven at 355°F with fan for at least 30 minutes, but halfway through cooking, gently turn the meatloaf upside down. Be careful not to burn yourself.
When it’s cooked, take it out and let it rest on the cutting board without opening it for at least 10 minutes. Then slice it and serve it surrounded by the potatoes.
Here’s Grandma Rita’s baked meatloaf.
for air fryer cooking
place the meatloaf without wrapping it in parchment paper as above.
For the first 5 minutes, cook only the potatoes with the seasonings at 392°F, then open the drawer and place the meatloaf on top of them, and continue cooking at 374°F for 10 minutes.
and here it is, Grandma Rita’s meatloaf, ready.
Storage
Grandma Rita’s baked meatloaf can be stored in the fridge for 3 days and in the freezer, either raw or cooked, for up to 3 months.
Grandma Rita’s baked meatloaf
Can I use ground chicken?
Yes, certainly
