POLPETTONE RIPIENO

Polpettone Ripieno image

Yield Makes 6 Servings

Number Of Ingredients 16

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For meat
1 1/2 cups 1/2-inch pieces crustless Italian bread
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
8 ounces Italian sausages, casings removed
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
For filling
1/4 cup water
1 10-ounce package ready-to-use spinach
4 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto
3 ounces provolone cheese, cut into 2x1/4x1/4-inch strips
6 hard-boiled eggs, peeled
18 fresh Italian parsley sprigs
1 tablespoon olive oil

Steps:

Make meat:
Line 18 x 12-inch baking sheet with foil. Moisten foil with water. Mix bread and milk in medium bowl. Mash bread with fingers until soaked. Squeeze out excess moisture from bread. Place bread in large bowl; discard milk. Add beef, sausages, eggs, salt and pepper to bread and mix well. Place meat in center of foil. Using moistened fingers, pat meat into 12 x 14-inch rectangle, about 1/2 inch thick. Cover; chill while preparing filling.
Make filling:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Bring 1/4 cup water to simmer in large pot. Add spinach; cover and cook until just wilted, tossing often, about 3 minutes. Drain well; pat dry. Cool. Arrange spinach over meat, covering completely. Cover with prosciutto. Arrange cheese atop prosciutto, spacing apart. Place eggs end to end in line down long side of roll. Arrange parsley along both sides of eggs. Starting at long side near eggs and using foil as aid, roll up meat jelly roll style. Pinch ends and seams together, enclosing filling completely. Fold down foil from around meat roll. Brush meat with 1 tablespoon oil.
Bake meat roll until thermometer inserted into center registers 160°F, about 1 hour. Let stand 15 minutes. Serve hot or at room temperature; cut into slices.