Meatloaf is something I remember as a child from old American TV programmes. I never had it myself until I was a grown up. One day I was wondering what to do with this pound of mince that was in my fridge, and I decided to make meatloaf with it. It was good, so I made it again.
I have tweaked the recipe a lot in the past few years, and now my meatloaf is pretty darned tasty.
So here I am, sharing it with you. Meatloaf is really easy to make, and you only really need one big bowl and one loaf pan or whatever you call those things you make bread in.
So, first off, get a bowl. A big enough bowl so that when you're stirring your ingredients together they don't all start falling out of the bowl, because that gets really annoying.
Put 1lb of mince in the bowl. I always use organic lean steak mince. That's not me bragging or flashing the cash, I just think it tastes a lot better, and it's nicer for the cow if it had a good life. If you can only afford the cheap fatty stuff, no worries. With lots of flavoursome herbs and spices, your meatloaf will turn out grand.
Some recipes call for sausage meat, and if you want to add in some sausage meat, then please, feel free, you'll get no judgement from me. I have added sausage meat before, and it is good. Try about 50g of it.
I usually put in some bacon instead though, I find it much nicer. Just chop up a few rashers, or put in some pancetta bits.
A small or medium egg is required to bind everything together. So crack one in there.
Sprinkle in about two teaspoons of Rosemary, and a teaspoon of Sage. Rosemary is delicious with beef. If you don't have Rosemary or Sage just put in some mixed herbs, or whatever you fancy.
Sprinkle in about a teaspoon of Paprika, and half a teaspoon of Cayenne Pepper. Grind in some salt and black pepper also, to your liking.
Plop in some tomato puree, maybe about a tablespoon or a little more.
You also need an onion and some garlic. One small onion should do, unless you really love onion, then put in a big one I suppose! Chop the onion up into tiny pieces and throw it in the bowl. Crush two or three garlic cloves and add them too.
You're supposed to put in breadcrumbs, about 100g. I never do, because I don't eat bread. But if you want breadcrumbs, you know what to do. They help to hold it together I think. My meatloaf falls apart a lot.
Now, the best bit. Cheese... I don't know how much cheese I put in, but I just grate in a load of Parmesan, or Cheddar if I have no Parmesan. Or both if I feel like grating two types of cheese...
So I'm going to guess 50g of cheese. You can add no cheese if you're not really into it, or more cheese if that doesn't seem like enough.
That's pretty much it for the ingredients. You have them all in the bowl. Now mix them together. You can use a spoon, or your hands if you like squishing things up with your hands. I know some people are into that.
When it's all mixed together just grease your loaf tin with a bit of butter or olive oil, and put the mixture into it. Squash it down with your spoon. Some recipes say to sprinkle breadcrumbs on top too, so if you want to try that you can.
Pop your meatloaf into the oven at 180 C or maybe 170 for a fan assisted oven. Leave it there for about 45-50 minutes, until it has pulled away from the sides of the tin.
This recipe feeds me and my partner and my daughter, but it would probably do four people. It's really nice served with a baked potato and some veg.
If you try this or any of my other recipes, let me know how they turn out.
I have tweaked the recipe a lot in the past few years, and now my meatloaf is pretty darned tasty.
So here I am, sharing it with you. Meatloaf is really easy to make, and you only really need one big bowl and one loaf pan or whatever you call those things you make bread in.
So, first off, get a bowl. A big enough bowl so that when you're stirring your ingredients together they don't all start falling out of the bowl, because that gets really annoying.
Put 1lb of mince in the bowl. I always use organic lean steak mince. That's not me bragging or flashing the cash, I just think it tastes a lot better, and it's nicer for the cow if it had a good life. If you can only afford the cheap fatty stuff, no worries. With lots of flavoursome herbs and spices, your meatloaf will turn out grand.
Some recipes call for sausage meat, and if you want to add in some sausage meat, then please, feel free, you'll get no judgement from me. I have added sausage meat before, and it is good. Try about 50g of it.
I usually put in some bacon instead though, I find it much nicer. Just chop up a few rashers, or put in some pancetta bits.
A small or medium egg is required to bind everything together. So crack one in there.
Sprinkle in about two teaspoons of Rosemary, and a teaspoon of Sage. Rosemary is delicious with beef. If you don't have Rosemary or Sage just put in some mixed herbs, or whatever you fancy.
Sprinkle in about a teaspoon of Paprika, and half a teaspoon of Cayenne Pepper. Grind in some salt and black pepper also, to your liking.
Plop in some tomato puree, maybe about a tablespoon or a little more.
You also need an onion and some garlic. One small onion should do, unless you really love onion, then put in a big one I suppose! Chop the onion up into tiny pieces and throw it in the bowl. Crush two or three garlic cloves and add them too.
You're supposed to put in breadcrumbs, about 100g. I never do, because I don't eat bread. But if you want breadcrumbs, you know what to do. They help to hold it together I think. My meatloaf falls apart a lot.
Now, the best bit. Cheese... I don't know how much cheese I put in, but I just grate in a load of Parmesan, or Cheddar if I have no Parmesan. Or both if I feel like grating two types of cheese...
So I'm going to guess 50g of cheese. You can add no cheese if you're not really into it, or more cheese if that doesn't seem like enough.
That's pretty much it for the ingredients. You have them all in the bowl. Now mix them together. You can use a spoon, or your hands if you like squishing things up with your hands. I know some people are into that.
When it's all mixed together just grease your loaf tin with a bit of butter or olive oil, and put the mixture into it. Squash it down with your spoon. Some recipes say to sprinkle breadcrumbs on top too, so if you want to try that you can.
Pop your meatloaf into the oven at 180 C or maybe 170 for a fan assisted oven. Leave it there for about 45-50 minutes, until it has pulled away from the sides of the tin.
This recipe feeds me and my partner and my daughter, but it would probably do four people. It's really nice served with a baked potato and some veg.
If you try this or any of my other recipes, let me know how they turn out.