Franco's Polpettone Napoletano

Heat the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat and add the onions. Cook until softened and beginning to color, about 7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 2 minutes longer. Set aside to cool to room temperature.

In a small bowl, soak the bread crumbs with the milk for 15 minutes. Drain and discard the milk and squeeze the bread crumbs to remove the excess liquid. Put into a large bowl and set aside.

Put the pancetta into the bowl with the bread crumbs. Add the ground pork, ground turkey, beef, eggs, Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, oregano and parsley. Using the "knead and fold" technique for sausage (page 000) combine the mixture well.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Lay down a large rectangle of parchment paper or foil (about 18 by 20-inches) on a rimmed baking sheet with the long edge facing toward you. Spread and pat the meat mixture out into an evenly thick 10 by 13-inch rectangle, again with the long edge parallel to your body. Put a layer of mortadella and then a layer of salami on top of the meat holding the meats at least 1-inch from the border on all sides. Slice 1/8-inch from the ends of all the eggs and lay them end to end down the middle of the rectangle. Line the cooked carrots and strips of cheese alongside both sides of the eggs. Using the parchment or foil, lift up the side long side of the meat rectangle and gently fold and roll it over the eggs and onto the other side, making sure that the two long sides meet evenly. With your hands, make sure the open side is well sealed so that the cooked cheese doesn't leak out. Plump up the loaf and seal the two ends. Unroll foil or parchment and leave on the bottom and cut off any parchment or foil that overhangs the baking sheet.

Put the polpettone in the preheated oven and bake until the internal meat temperature reaches 150 degrees, about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours. When taking your reading make sure you take it from several places in the loaf as you don't want to stick the thermometer directly into the eggs.

Remove the polpettone from the oven and allow to cool for 30 minutes before slicing and serving. Cut into 1/2 to 3/4-inch slices and serve warm or at room temperature with or without the tomato sauce.

Chef's Note: This is a versatile dish. You can use deli meats such as prosciutto or smoked ham or coppa. Leave out the hard-cooked eggs and just put more cheese down the center and layer with more sliced meats. In addition to the carrots try zucchini, or black pitted olives embedded in the meat as well. Use your imagination.

Slices of Polpettone are also delicious served in a pool of Lisa's No-Fuss Tomato Sauce: Sauté 1/4 cup each finely chopped carrots, celery, and shallots in 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add 2 cups drained good-quality Italian canned tomatoes and simmer for 30 minutes. Add 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary and cook 5 minutes more. Puree in a blender or food processor and adding water to thin if necessary. Makes about 2 cups.

Polpettone is Italian for giant meatball. In Italy this dish is made not as a ball, but in a rolled cylinder stuffed with eggs, cheese, and cold cuts, wrapped in cheesecloth and then poached in a fresh tomato sauce. Franco Dunn, chef/owner of Santi restaurant in Geyserville, California, likes to bake his version of polpettone in an oven as you would any meat loaf (polpettone is really just a glorified meat loaf) and then he serves tomato sauce on the side. You can make the polpettone with all ground pork or blended with ground turkey or beef. This recipe is intentionally quite large so it makes lots of leftovers; it makes the best meatloaf sandwiches in the world, particularly on Italian bread with a little of Lisa's No-Fuss Tomato Sauce (see Chef's Note) or the olive salad (page 000), or the Olive Salad (page 000).