Food with passion: Mouth-watering Meatloaf
John Paul Kennedy is a self-taught cook and an avid fan of collecting cookery books with a passion for good old-fashioned home cooking.
His passion for proper family cooking stems from his TWO Grandmothers, who were both excellent cooks, one of whom was a trained chef.
JP promises to bring us plenty of family-inspired recipes and tasty treats while showing us how to get the basics right.
There is nothing more mouth-watering and comforting that a superior quality Meatloaf made with top quality ingredients, lightened up with some seasonal flavours.
Great for feeding a crowd, this meatloaf is quick and easy to prepare, is super moist and flavoursome.
I would always recommend sourcing excellent quality meat from your local butchers, I find its always better quality!
When this comes out of the oven it is a real feast for the eyes, coupled with the most delicious smells; served with mash potato and some seasonal greens and you have a winning dish that all the family will love.
My brother Barry enjoyed this so much he went back for third helpings – it is that good!
Ingredients: (serves six, if making for more double the recipe)
- 1lb minced beef.
- 1lb minced pork.
- One carrot finely diced.
- One onion finely diced.
- ½ celery stick finely chopped
- Tablespoon each of fresh Thyme or sage and rosemary finely chopped.
- One ball of fresh mozzarella – chopped into small pieces.
- One tablespoon of tomato puree
- 400ml of hot chicken stock
- Twelve pieces of smoked streaky bacon
- One egg
- 100g fresh breadcrumbs’
- One teaspoon of whole grain mustard
- One teaspoon of Dijon mustard
- Dash of Olive oil
- Sea Salt and cracked black pepper.
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 190 degrees /350F. In a large casserole / cast-iron dish drizzle in some olive oil and on a medium heat fry off the carrot, onions, celery, and half of the chopped fresh herbs and cook off for about 10 minutes.
- In a large mixing bowl combine the cooked carrots, onions and celery with the meats, mozzarella cheese, tomato puree, wholegrain mustard, egg, breadcrumbs, remaining herbs and a grinding of salt and pepper and mix well until everything is well combined.
- In a large baking dish, mould into a loaf shape and cover with the streaky bacon in a criss-cross design. Cover with tinfoil and roast for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes remove the foil and mix the hot chicken stock with the Dijon mustard and pour over and around the meatloaf. Cook for another 45- 55 minutes until the bacon is nice and crispy.
- Serve with creamy mashed potato and season greens, peas, broccoli or cabbage and a generous drizzle of stock from the bottom of the pan and enjoy – Comfort food heaven.
At this time of year, everyone craves perfect comfort seasonal food.
Stews, casseroles, and this Meatloaf are perfect one pot / pan dishes that go a long way.
This meatloaf is incredibly moist, light, and flavoursome and served with the perfect accompaniments such as mash and greens, for me is the ultimate comfort food bowl as the nights get darker and colder.
This is a new favourite in my household, and I am sure if you give this recipe a go it will become a family favourite in yours too
