Tuscan Meat Roll with White Wine and Porcini Mushrooms
My wife and I spent two weeks in Tuscany in May 2004, based at Villa Nottola, just down the hill from Montepulciano. The weather was terrible – not much Tuscan sun – but we had a great time. My Trip Report of our time in Tuscany – Tuscan Rambles – led to my first pick in the 2006 Slow Travel contest. I chose a week – which we extended to twelve days – in an apartment in Rome, which we took in September 2007. We were able to invite our two sons to accompany us to Rome – our two daughters were otherwise engaged. We treasure our time in Italy with our two sons – Roman Holiday.
So we have fond memories of our time in Tuscany, despite the poor weather. Another reason for our pleasant recollections is the food we enjoyed. We had several very good meals, including three at the well-known Trattoria Latte di Luna in Pienza. Much of the food we enjoyed was in the style of cucina povera . While Marcella does not make the connection, I am pretty sure that this recipe is in the same tradition.
Wow! – a lot of ingredients in this recipe. Bread, milk, ground beef, onion, salt, pepper, prosciutto, parmigiano-reggiano cheese, garlic, egg yolk, bread crumbs, butter, vegetable oil, white wine, porcini mushrooms, plum tomatoes. See below.
Most of the ingredients are mixed with the meat, which is then shaped into a salami-like roll about 2 1/2″ thick, then rolled in the bread crumbs & cooked in an oval pot for about an hour along with the tomatoes and water from soaking the porcini mushrooms. I should have taken a photo of this step – would have made my next comment very obvious.
OK, if you haven’t figured this out already, this dish is basically a meat loaf with a tomato sauce. Final result below.
What I liked about this recipe:
Well, what’s not to like? Aside from the porcini mushrooms, everything was close at hand. No problems.
What I didn’t I like about this recipe:
The directions called for me to flip the meat roll several times in the pan. I had some difficulty at first, but my technique improved with practice.
Would I make it again?
Hey, why not? Inexpensive dish to prepare with excellent results. A bit of an upgrade from the usual meat loaf recipes. I’ll likely make it many times.
Thanks Beth and Mike for you love for Italy and its foody world which is a good way to preserve traditions and culture of our land. Porcini mushrooms are very typical from Tuscany, and in particular the Garfagnana area close to Lucca. I love them and I am tempted by the meat rool pairing…usually we use veal filet or roasted pork. Just remember not to add parmesan cheese on top, as it covers the original smell of porcinis. Enjoy it!
We used to stop in Pienza, an almost self-consciously Tuscan town, every time we drove through central Tuscany. The main reason was the pecorino, which I hope you sampled. It exemplifies the platonic ideal of sheep’s milk cheese, the most satisfying firm cheese there is to eat. We always brought back half a dozen wheels to Venice. I hope some day an importer with a palate will discover it and enrich the all too familiar and safe selection of Italian cheeses that fills the cheesemongers’ counters.
Ah, Wishversilia, another pedantic Tuscan commentator. Porcini are no more typical of Garfagnana than they are of Borgotaro or the Montello or the chestnut and oak woods of the Langhe in Piedmont or the hills northwest of Bologna and of two dozen at least other wooded hillsites in Italy. As for the presumed irreconcilability of parmigiano and porcini, the writer should be introduced to dishes such as risotto coi porcini, which is always mantecato with parmigiano.
This looks so very comforting and delicious. Thanks Doug!
Marcella, We managed to bring back two wheels of pecorino from Caseficio Cugusi, between Montepulciano and Pienza
Looks great Doug! I’m looking forward to returning to Pienza and eating LOTS of pecorino. I didn’t think that we were able to bring it home to Canada but apparently I was wrong. I shall correct that on my next trip.
I’ve been cooking through Classics and More Classics and my family loves this recipe. The sauce is amazing. My 2 year old and picky 5 year old gobble it down. I’m enjoying this site so much. It’s wonderful to cook a recipe myself, come to the site to read your experience and comments and then read Marcella’s personal antidotes and comments. Amazing!