Recipe: Mamma's Italian Meatloaf with Mamma's Pomodoro Tomato Sauce (Cucina Amore)

MAMMA'S ITALIAN MEATLOAF

1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped medium
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped medium
1/2 yellow onion, peeled and chopped medium
1/2 bunch green onions, sliced
1 garlic clove, peeled and chopped fine
2 eggs
1 cup crushed tomatoes
1 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese
1 cup bread crumbs
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley
2 pounds ground beef
1 cup Mamma's Pomodoro Tomato Sauce (recipe follows)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

In a small saute pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat and add the bell peppers and yellow onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes or until vegetables are soft.

Add the green onion and garlic; cook 1 minute more. Set the vegetables aside to cool.

In a mixing bowl, combine the remaining ingredients except sauce. Add the cooled vegetables and mix well. Form into a loaf and place in a casserole dish just big enough to hold the meatloaf.

Place the meatloaf in the oven and cook for 15-20 minutes, or until nice and brown.

Pour the tomato sauce over the meatloaf, cover with foil, reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F. and bake another 30-45 minutes or until a thermometer inserted in lthe middle reaches 150-160 degrees F. Remove from the oven and let rest for 15-30 minutes.

Cut the meatloaf into slices about 3/4-inch thick and spoon some of the sauce from the pan over each slice.

Servings: 6

MAMMA'S POMODORO TOMATO SAUCE

1/4 cup olive oil
1 medium onion, peeled and finely diced
1/4 cup garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 (28 ounce) can tomatoes, canned, chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper
10 large fresh basil leaves, each torn into 3-4 pieces

In a medium sized stainless steel saucepan, place the olive oil, onion, and garlic over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, for 8-10 minutes, or until onions are soft and translucent and just starting to caramelize.

Add the garlic and cook 1 more minute.

Add the chopped tomatoes and cook for 20 minutes, stirring frequently to keep the sauce from burning.

When the sauce is done, add the salt and pepper to taste. Add the basil leaves to the top of the sauce and cover tightly. Let the sauce sit for a few minutes, then remove the lid and stir in the basil. Let cool and store in the refrigerator in an airtight container.

Source: Ciao Y'all by Damian Mandola, Johnny Carrabba, John Demers, and Chris T. Sullivan