More and more people are asking me for meatloaf recipes. There are two on the Meateaters site already (here and here)but both of these probably err on the traditional mince and grated carrot side of this comfort food.
Ray McVinnie’s meatloaf has a bit of pizazz about it and looks like it’d be well worth the effort. It was printed in the Sunday Star Times magazine on Sunday 19 September.
Ingredients:
- 500g minced pork
- 500g minced beef or veal
- 4 rashers of rindless bacon chopped into 1 cm pieces
- 2 cloves of finely chopped garlic
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 cup of fresh breadcrumbs mixed with 1/4 cup of milk
- 2 Tbsp chopped parsley
- salt and pepper
- 2 bay leaves
- 4 Tbsp olive oil
- 800 g onions thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup of Kalamata olives pitted and sliced
- 150ml white wine
- 2 tsp flour
- 250 ml beef stock
- 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
Method:
Preheat the oven to 190ºC. Line a medium loaf tin with baking paper.
Put the pork, beef or veal, bacon, oregano, soaked breadcrumbs and 1 Tbsp of the parsley into a bowl. Season well and then get your hands in there and mix it all up til it’s an even mixture of ingrdients. Wash your hands first though!
Put this mixture into the tin and place the bay leaves on top. Cook in the oven for 45-50 minutes until the skewer test produces clear juice. Remove from the oven and rest – the loaf I mean.
To make the gravy heat the olive oil over a moderate heat. Add the onion and fry gently for 20 minutes or until the onion is soft and evenly browned. Add the white wine and let it bubble away until it has evaporated. Stir in the flour and then add the beef stock. Bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes, then add the balsamic vinegar. Taste and season. Stir in the remaining parsley.
Serve the meat loaf with the gravy on top. And no prizes for guessing that an accompaniment of mashed or creamed potatoes will go down a treat with this meal.
So, there you have it. The flash version of the traditional meat loaf. Simple yet oh so tasty.
Yum!
Ray McVinnie is the food editor of Cuisine magazine.