Italian Meat And Potatoes Recipes

ITALIAN POTATO RECIPE

Steps:

• Peel and cut potatoes into wedges.
• Place the potatoes in a large bowl of cold water while prepping the rest of the ingredients.
• Thinly slice the onion. Set aside.
• Mince the garlic. Set aside.
• Preheat oven to 425° F (220° C).
• Place oven grate on the lower center rack.
• Empty the can of whole peeled canned tomatoes in a large bowl.
• Add one cup of water to the can, swirl and empty contents in the bowl.
• Hand crush the tomatoes.
• Add the minced garlic, dried oregano, paprika and salt and pepper. Feel free to adjust seasonings. Combine together and set aside.
• Drain the water from the potatoes.
• Add the sliced onions and crushed tomatoes and combine.
• Toss the sliced onions with the potato wedges in a large deep baking dish (10.5 x 14.75 inches).
• Arrange the potatoes and vegetables in a single layer, in the baking dish.
• Drizzle olive oil over the top.
• Cover with aluminum foil and bake for about 45-60 minutes or until a knife can easily pierce through the potato. Gently move the potatoes to the baking pan.
• Bake for another 15-20 minutes, without the foil or until most of the moisture has evaporated from the tomato sauce. Stir occasionally.
• Transfer to a serving dish, garnish with fresh chopped parsley and serve.
• OPTIONAL: Garnish with grated pecorino romano cheese or parmesan cheese.

ITALIAN LAYERED MEAT-AND-POTATO LOAF WITH ROASTED TOMATOES

Steps:

• Pre-heat oven to 200°C.
• FOR THE MEATLOAF:.
• Boil potatoes till tender; drain.
• Add milk and salt and pepper to taste; potatoes should still be pretty dry, but hold together enough to work with in a later step.
• While the potatoes are boiling, add oil to a frying pan and saute the onion, pepper, and garlic till tender, but not brown (about 3-5 minutes); take off heat and allow to cool.
• In a large bowl, combine the onion mix, minced meat, breadcrumbs, basil and egg; add salt and pepper to taste and mix very well (use your hands).
• Place half of the meat mixture in a baking dish, shaping it into a rather wide loaf with a flattened top (since you will be stacking the other ingredients above).
• Take half of the mashed potatoes, and make a level layer of them above the meat base (once again, hands work best).
• Cover the potato layer with the spinach leaves.
• Cover the spinach with the mozzarella, again making a level layer.
• Cover this with the remaining potatoes, once again leveling.
• Finish off with the remaining meat, molding and shaping it to not only cover the top, but down the sides as needed to keep the stacks together.
• Bake for 20 minutes, glaze the top with honey, and continue baking for 20 to 25 more minutes.
• Allow to rest 5 minutes before slicing.
• FOR THE TOMATOES:.
• Just as you are placing the meatloaf in the oven, wash tomatoes, and slice in half horizontally.
• Remove the pips and juices with your fingers.
• Sprinkle the tomato cavities with salt, then turn them upside down on a paper towel (this will help remove extra juices which would tend to make them mushy when baking).
• After fifteen minutes, place the tomato halves right side up on a non-stick baking sheet.
• Place the garlic slivers in the tomato cavities (at least two per cavity) and drizzle with olive oil (to taste, but I recommend about 1/2 tsp per tomato).
• At the time that you glaze the meatloaf with the honey, place the tomatoes in the oven (thus, bake for 20-25 minutes).

ITALIAN-STYLE MEAT AND POTATOES

Steps:

• Cook first 4 ingredients in large skillet coated with cooking spray, stirring until beef crumbles and is no longer pink.
• Drain well and pat dry with paper towels. Stir together beef mixture and tomato sauce. Spoon into 13 x 9 baking dish coated with cooking spray.
• Prepare potatoes according to package directions*.
• Stir together mashed potatoes and cheese sauce. Spread over beef mixture.
• Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese and bake 5 minutes more or until cheese melts.
• * can use left over mashed potatoes or even instant mashed potatoes prepared according to package directions.