Cuzzetiello

Step 1: Soak 2 ⅛ oz stale white bread in ¼ cup milk for 5 minutes, then squeeze it out and crumble into a bowl.

Step 2: Add 9 oz beef mince, 5 ½ oz pork mince, 1 egg, 1 ⅜ oz Parmigiano Reggiano, 1 garlic clove, 2 tbsp flat-leaf parsley and 1 tsp fine salt and mix with your hands until just combined. Roll into 12 balls the size of a walnut.

Step 3: Heat 3 tbsp olive oil in a wide, deep pan over a medium heat and brown the meatballs for 6–8 minutes, turning, until coloured all over. Lift them out.

Step 4: Add 1 onion to the pan and cook gently for 8 minutes, until soft and golden. Pour in ½ cup red wine and let it bubble for 2–3 minutes, until the smell of alcohol has gone.

Step 5: Add 1 ½ lb tomato passata and 6 leaves fresh basil, return the meatballs, cover with the lid ajar and simmer on low for 45 minutes, stirring now and then, until the sauce is thick and glossy and the meatballs reach 160°F in the centre. Common mistake: boiling the sauce hard; the meatballs toughen and the ragù catches on the bottom.

Step 6: Cut the two ends off 1 crusty country loaf about 10 cm long (use the middle for another day), plus two thick middle chunks if you need four portions. Pull out most of the soft crumb, leaving a 1 cm wall.

Step 7: Spoon sauce into each hollow, push in 3 meatballs, top with more sauce and 2 ⅞ oz smoked provola, and press back a little of the removed crumb as a lid. Wrap in paper and eat warm.

Step 8: Vegetarian version: fill the bread with garlicky sautéed friarielli (or broccoli rabe) and slices of smoked provola labelled vegetarian, warmed in the oven until the cheese melts.