Meet roll with a dry porcini and tomato sauce

Polpettone con porcini secchi e pomodori

• 600 g of minced beef
• 100 g of sliced mortadella, finely chopped
• 89-90 g of bread crumbs
• milk
• 60 g of grated Parmesan or Grana Padano
• 2 eggs
• a few gratings of lemon zest
• 20-30 ml of dry white wine
• a handful of dry porcini 
• 2 tins of plum tomatoes or 400 ml of tomato passata
• plain flour for dusting
• salt
• pepper
• pinch of sugar

Soak the dried mushrooms in warm water for 20 minutes. Drain and cut them into smaller pieces.

Put the breadcrumbs into a small bowl and cover them with milk and leave for 20 minutes.

Add more milk and stir immediately if the mixture has become too dry. You should obtain a soft but still sandy consistency. You can always squeeze out the excess milk in case you’ve added too much.

In a large bowl mix very well the minced beef, the mortadella, lemon zest, breadcrumbs and eggs. Season with salt and pepper.

Now form from the mixture the polpettone, the meat roll of a rectangular shape.

Cover the meat roll with flour on all sides rolling it gently from one side to another. Eliminate the excess flour, the meat should be just dusted with it.

In the meantime heat up 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot that will accommodate the meat roll. Place the floured meat roll into the pot and fry on a medium heat on both sides until they turn golden. 

Pour in the white wine and wait until it evaporates.

Now pour in the tomato passata (or plum tomatoes), add the mushrooms, season with some salt, pepper and one pinch of sugar. Cover the pot with the lid and slowly cook on a low heat for about 60-80 minutes (depending on the thickness of your meat roll) turning the polpettone every 20 minutes. Taste the sauce and add more seasoning if needed.