I’ve often heard of meat loaves in American TV shows and movies, and so I decided its worth giving it a go to see what all the fuss is about, I'm not sure if it’s exactly how the Americans do it, but there’s no harm in trying!
Serves 4 – read in 1 hour including prep
Ingredients:
For the Meatloaves:
· 4 tsp olive oil
· 1 onion, finely chopped.
· 1 carrot, finely chopped
· 50g fresh breadcrumbs
· 175ml passata
· 2tsp Worcestershire sauce
· 1 egg, beaten
· 500g lean beef or pork mince
· 2tsp thyme leaves
· 2 plum tomatoes, halved, seeds scraped out
· 1 tsp sugar
For the Chive Mash:
· 4 large potatoes (Maris Pipers)
· 2tbsp butter
· 100ml milk
· chives
Now for the How To:
· Heat oven to 200c / 180 fan / gas 6 and heat 1tsp oil in a large frying pan.
· Add the onion and carrot and soften for 10 minutes.
· Once cooked add to a large bowl, add the breadcrumbs, 5 tbsp of the pasta, the Worcestershire sauce, egg, mince half the thyme and some seasoning. Mix well.
· Brush 4 large ramekins, or 6 muffin tins with the remaining oil (if using the silicone muffin trays, the extra oil isn’t needed)
· Press the mince mixture into them, and pour the remaining cassata over the top.
· Top each one with a tomato half, sprinkled with a pinch of sugar, salt and pepper and the remaining thyme.
· Bake for 50 minutes.
· Meanwhile peel and chop the potatoes and boil for 15 minutes in salted water until tender.
· Drain and return to the pan, mash with the butter and the milk.
· Season to taste, fold through a small bunch snipped chives and serve.
I didn’t really know what to expect from this recipe, as I didn’t really know what a meat loaf was! But the only way I can think of describing it is a mix between a meatball and a faggot it was delicious and I can understand exactly why it’s so often mentioned in American TV shows and films! I will be trying this recipe again soon!
Next up is a desert and cinnamon Nutella Cake!
Bye for Now! X
