Serves 6-8
Ingredients:
- 1 pound ground pork (lean ground pork if you can find it)
- 1 pound ground lean beef
- 2 cups plus 3 tablespoons fresh bread crumbs
- 1 cup freshly grated pecorino Romano cheese
- 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
- Salt and pepper
- 8 ounces baby spinach leaves
- 2 carrots (full-size), cut lengthwise into 6 slices each
- 6 slices Prosciutto di Parma
- 6 slices Caciocavallo (if you can find it; Zingerman’s has it, for example) or other semi-soft cheese, such as provolone).
Instructions:- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil.
- In a large bowl, combine the pork, beef, 2 cups of the bread crumbs, the pecorino, eggs, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix gently but thoroughly with your hands and then cover and refrigerate.
- Preheat the oven to 400° F.
- Bring 6 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot and add 1 tablespoon salt. Dip the spinach leaves in the water just to wilt them and then immediately remove. Add the carrots to the boiling water and cook for 10 minutes. Then drain and set aside.
- Combine the flour with the remaining 3 tablespoons of bread crumbs and heavily dust a wooden board or other work surface with the mixture. Pat the meat mixture into a ½-inch-thick rectangle about 16 inches by 6 inches on the dusted board.
- Lay the spinach leaves over the meat, leaving a 1 inch border on the short sides. Lay the carrot slices over the spinach, prosciutto and caciocavallo (or other cheese) over the carrots. (are you trying to lay the ingredients on top of the carrots or the carrots on top of the rest of the ingredients?) Starting from the long side, roll the meat up into a jelly roll, making it as compact as possible. It should be about 16 inches long. Dust the outside with flour.
- Place the loaf on a rack in a broiler pan. Pour the olive oil down the length of the loaf. Bake for one hour, or until the loaf reaches an internal temperature of 165° F.
- Transfer the loaf to a cutting board and slice into 1-inch-thick slices, and serve.
Adapted from Molto Italiano.
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