Italian meatloaf with simple tomato sauce

Make a panade: crush a sleeve of saltines with two eggs and about a cup of buttermilk.

Microplane in about four garlic cloves per pound of meat; add chopped parsley, some salt and plenty of black pepper.

Grate in Romano and fontina; crush everything by hand until the saltines soak up the egg and buttermilk into an almost paste.

Add a pound each of ground pork and ground beef and mix just until combined; do not overwork.

Microwave about a teaspoon of the mix for about 10 seconds and taste for seasoning.

Free-form the mix into a loaf in a casserole dish for more browning surface.

Bake in an oven preheated to 400 degrees with a probe thermometer in, to 150F in the center, about 45 minutes.

Transfer to a serving platter and rest 10 to 15 minutes; carryover took it to about 162F before it began to fall.

Sauce: heat crushed tomatoes with salt, a sprig of basil and good olive oil.

Spoon the sauce around the meatloaf; finish with grated Pecorino Romano, more parsley and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Slice and serve with extra sauce.