Italian Meatloaf

A couple weeks ago, I made a Lamb Meatloaf with Indian Spices, inspired by a meatloaf article in the current issue of Fine Cooking.   I was happy with how that turned out, and continue to be inspired by that article's discussion of how you can successfully make a wide variety of different meatloaves by varying ingredients but maintaining a general ratio of so much meat to so much of various other sorts of ingredients, so last weekend I made an Italian meatloaf.   Once again I came up with a version somewhat different from that suggested in the article, and didn't let their choices of ingredients or their ratios constrain me too much.   And once again it turned out pretty well.

As with any meatloaf, this one is based on the meat, which in this case is a mixture of one pound of ground veal mixed with a half-pound each of lean ground beef and Graziano Bros. sweet Italian sausage.   Other key ingredients include white wine (added to the aromatics and cooked down) and freshly-grated Parmigiano-Reggiano.  The wine and the cheese provided a richness of flavor beyond that typical for a meatloaf, while the combination of tomato paste, tomato sauce and a bit of brown sugar provided more depth of flavor, not to mention a glaze more typically Italian than the standard ketchup glaze.

I've found one key to a good meatloaf is to cook it a way that allows excess fat and moisture to drain off as it cooks, as opposed to staying in the pan and making the bottom third of the meatloaf soggy and greasy.  Once again I achieved this goal by cooking the meatloaf on a broiler pan.

The meatloaf had a firm, well-browned crust with some cracks where tasty cheese had bubbled up through the surface, yet was moist on the inside.  It held together well, with very little crumbling, and had a nice texture, fairly light for a meatloaf.  The various seasonings stood out without any of them dominating.  

I served the meatloaf with two sides I took from different sources.  Rosemary and Chevre Mashed Potatoes was from the promotional issue of Cuisine at Home I received awhile back, while Honey-Glazed Carrots with Lemon and Thyme is from the America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook, which I've been finding quite useful.  Both turned out quite nice, and nicely complemented the meatloaf.

The Rosemary and Chevre Mashed Potatoes featured an interesting mix of flavorful ingredients - fresh rosemary, goat cheese, butter, pepper and salt, of course, but also buttermilk and lemon zest.   They had a lot more flavor than the average mashed potatoes, and stood well on their own with no need for gravy or even additional seasonings.  The Honey-Glazed Carrots were also outstanding.   They simmered in a mixture of honey and chicken broth just long enough to cook through and pick up some seasoning without getting soggy, while lemon zest and juice and some more honey added off the heat added extra flavor and some thickness to the glaze.  I only made half a batch of these, and regretted not making the full recipe, because Juli and I finished the carrots off and would have gladly eaten more if we'd had more. 

The Italian Meatloaf and the two flavorful sides made for a very satisfying meal.  I'm probably going to wait a few weeks before I make another meatloaf, as we have lots of meatloaf leftovers in the freezer now for lunches, but that will give me time to decide whether I want to do a mushroom loaf or a Greek loaf next.  I'll definitely be making the mashed potatoes and the glazed carrots again, and probably soon.   The ATK Family Cookbook includes several variants on the basic Glazed Carrots, and they all look great. 

Italian Meatloaf

yield = 7-8 servings

2       tablespoons olive oil
1       large yellow onion, chopped
1       tablespoon minced garlic
4       tablespoons tomato paste, divided
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
3/4    cup white wine
4       slices white sandwich bread, torn into 1-inch pieces
3/4    cup milk
1       pound ground veal
1/2    pound 90% lean ground beef
1/2    pound sweet Italian sausage
2       large eggs
1/2    cup finely-grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1/4    cup chopped fresh parsley
1       tablespoon chopped fresh basil
1       tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2       teaspoons kosher salt
1/2    teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
1/2    teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
3       tablespoons tomato sauce
1      teaspoon dark brown sugar

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add onion and cook until it starts to brown (about 7 minutes) then stir in garlic, two tablespoons of tomato paste and oregano.  Cook 1 minute, then add white wine and cook until the pan is almost dry (about 5 minutes).  Transfer to a large bowl and set aside to cool.

Soak the bread pieces in milk for about 10 minutes, then mash into a paste.  Add to large bowl with cooled onion mixture.

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees.  Prepare a broiler pan by lining the inside of the pan with foil and spraying the top rack with nonstick cooking spray. 

Add the veal, beef, sausage, eggs, Parmigiano-Reggiano, parsley, basil, Worcestershire sauce, kosher salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes to the large bowl.  Use hands to combine the ingredients without tightly packing the mixture.

Stir together tomato sauce, the rest of the tomato paste and brown sugar in a small bowl.

Transfer the meat mixture to a sheet of wax paper and shape it into a rectangle, approximately 12 x 4 inches.  Brush top and sides of the meatloaf with the tomato mixture.  Bake until a thermometer inserted in the center of the meatloaf registers 160 degrees (about 55 minutes).   Remove from oven, let rest 10 minutes, then transfer meatloaf to a cutting board and slice into individual servings.

Lamb Loaf with Indian Spices

The current issue of Fine Cooking features an article about meatloaf.  More specifically, it discusses how to make a close-to-endless array of customized meatloaf recipes by mixing and matching a range of different ingredients.   The article starts by breaking down ingredients into certain classes - meats, aromatics, herbs and spices, flavor boosters, glazes and so on - and then gives suggested ratios and amounts of these different ingredients to use in making a meatloaf.   I found the article itself quite interesting, and I was intrigued by some of the suggested meatloaf varieties.  

One that really caught my eye was for an Indian-Spiced Lamb Meatloaf.   I had some ideas how to do it a bit differently than suggested in the article, but the article seemed a good place to start in developing my own recipe.  In the end, I ended up going with a slightly different ingredient ratio than that suggested by the article.  I also included a bit of one of my favorite flavor enhancers - tomato paste - which wasn't mentioned in the article at all.   Still, credit where due to Allison Ehri Kreitler.  Her article has gotten me thinking about meat loaf in whole new ways, and I expect I'll be going back to that article for ideas a lot in the next couple months.

More credit where due:  One of our favorite ATK recipes is the 30-Minute Meatloaves one originally published in Cook's Country.  I love how they are cooked on a broiler pan, which allows excess fat to drip away from the meatloaf, so I used a variant of that technique here, and it worked great. 

This meatloaf was wonderful - tender, flavorful and a bit spicy, and it held together well and wasn't the slightest bit soggy or greasy, due to being cooked on the broiler pan rather than in a loaf pan.  The honey glaze was a nice touch, adding a bit of sweetness without being cloying or overpowering.   The various flavors balanced and complemented each other nicely, but despite some strongly-flavored ingredients, the meat flavor remained the dominant one. 

The next meatloaf I make will be an Italian-inspired one, and I'll probably experiment with some other types of meatloaf over the next several weeks, but this version is a winner, and we'll definitely be making it again sometime. 

We served our Lamb Loaf with Curried Skillet Cauliflower, from the America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook, Third Edition.   Also Indian-inspired, the cauliflower went nicely with the meat loaf.  We'll be making it again as well.

Lamb Loaf with Indian Spices

yield = 6-8 servings

2          tablespoons canola oil

1          medium yellow onion, chopped

3          medium carrots, peeled and minced

1          jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced

2          tablespoons tomato paste
2          teaspoons minced garlic

2          teaspoons garam masala

2          teaspoons ground cumin

2          teaspoons peeled and grated ginger

1/2       teaspoon cumin seed

1/2       teaspoon black mustard seed

5          ounces (4-5 slices) stale white bread, torn into small pieces

1/2       cup whole milk

2          pounds ground lamb

2          eggs, lightly beaten
2          tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1          tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2          teaspoons kosher salt
1/2       teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
2          tablespoons honey

Heat the canola oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the chopped onion and carrot and cook, stirring often, for three minutes.  Stir in the jalapeno and continue to cook until the onions and carrots are soft and the onions have started to brown.  Add tomato paste, garlic, garam masala, ground cumin, grated ginger, cumin seed and black mustard seed and cook 1 minute, stirring frequently.  Transfer to a large bowl  and allow to cool. 

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Prepare a broiler pan by lining the inside of the pan with foil and spraying the top rack with nonstick cooking spray. 

Arrange the bread pieces in a shallow dish, then add the milk.  Soak the bread in the milk for a few minutes, stirring it occasionally so the bread is uniformly soggy, then squeeze a handful of bread at a time to squeeze out some of the milk, leaving the bread wet but not drenched.  Crumble or finely chop the bread, then set aside.

When the vegetable mixture has cooled, add bread, ground lamb, eggs, cilantro, Worcestershire sauce, kosher salt and black pepper to the large bowl.  Wet your hands and use them to gently mix all the ingredients until just combined.  Do not tightly pack the mixture. 

Transfer meat mixture to a sheet of waxed paper and shape it into rectangle approximately 10x4 inches.  Transfer to the broiling rack, reshape if necessary, then brush the top and sides of the meat mixture with honey.

Bake approximately 45 minutes or until a thermometer inserted in the center of the meatloaf reads 160 degrees.  Remove from oven and let rest 10 minutes before transferring to a cutting board.  Cut loaf into inch-thick slices and serve.

Mini Meat Loaves, Roasted Garlic Potatoes and Green Beans with Creamy Mushroom Sauce

Monday night's supper featured two recipes taken from the America's Test Kitchen Special Edition Best-Ever Recipes, which I have previously reviewed (http://jeffreyandjulicook.blogspot.com/2010/09/best-ever-recipes-lives-up-to-its-title.html) and frequently mentioned, as well as an original creation of my own. 

The centerpiece of the meal was the 30-Minute Meatloaf, a recipe that originally appeared in the Oct 2006 issue of Cook's Country.  These mini-meatloaves are briefly browned in a skillet then baked in the oven on a broiler pan, which allows fat to drip away from the meatloaf, insuring a meatloaf that is firm and nicely browned on the outside, yet moist on the inside and delicious all the way through.  I've made this one before, and Juli and I had both been wanting it again.  It's a five-star recipe for both of us, and has in fact made my short list of "go to" recipes.  It's highly recommended, and it really is quite fast to prepare.

Monday was the first time I tried the recipe for Roasted Garlic Potatoes, which originally appeared in the April, 2006 Cook's Country.  It's sort of a combination roasted/oven fried potato recipe, which produces wonderfully seasoned potatoes that are nicely crisped on the outside yet moist and creamy on the inside.  This recipe took the most time of the three, as it requires the potatoes to be in the oven for about 45 minutes total and flipped partway through.  All worked great, though, as I was able to get the meatloaves ready to go into the oven during that time. 

I also wanted a vegetable dish to go with the meat main course and the potato side, and since meatloaf and potatoes are very basic foods - comfort foods, almost - I wanted a vegetable dish that was similarly homey.  As we get closer to Thanksgiving, I've been thinking a lot about that traditional favorite, green bean casserole, and that led me to make up a recipe somewhat inspired by that casserole.  We picked up some great, fresh green beans at a farmer's market over the weekend, so I used those and made up a a creamy mushroom sauce thickened with French fried potatoes.  The finishing touch is to top the beans and sauce with more French fried potatoes, thus evoking the full the texture and flavor palate of the familiar casserole.  It was quite tasty, not to mention fast and easy to make, and I expect this might also become something of a go-to recipe, as it is a pretty basic side dish that can potentially go with a lot of things.

Anyway, everything was ready to eat in about 1 hour, and all three recipes were a success.  I greatly recommend both of the ones that are not my own creation, and also believe that you will be quite pleased if you try out the one I did create.

Green Beans with Creamy Mushroom Sauce

yield = 4 servings

1     pound fresh green beans
4     ounces fresh white mushrooms, thinly sliced
1     tablespoon butter
1     cup half and half
2/3  cup chicken broth
1/2  teaspoon garlic powder
       salt and pepper to taste
1     cup + 1./2 cup French fried onions

Steam the green beans until cooked.   Meanwhile, melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat then saute the mushrooms until they are soft (about 2 minutes).  Add the half and half, chicken broth, garlic powder and salt and pepper to taste.  Bring the liquid to a simmer, then stir in 1 cup of the French fried onions and cook until the sauce is thickened. 

Serve the green beans in a bowl, topped with the mushroom sauce and 1/2 cup of French fried onions.