Week 25 - Roast Meatloaf with Zucchini Fritters

Learning to live on a budget while studying at University has been an eye opening time. I have come to realise you really can do a lot with a little and I am always looking for new ways to pimp up budget cuts such as mince. Meatloaf is one of those understated meals and for me always reminds me of being a kid.. and I don't even think we ate it much! I also love the idea of utilising my (Jamie Oliver) food processor, especially for weeknight meals.

This one was so simple to make, but I think next time I'll stick to the full size meatloaf. While these we nice they were just like rissoles, which is fine, just not what I was looking for. I also had some issues with the sauce/oil and the fact that it dried up really quickly and then so did the meat. 

The zucchini fritters are a recipe I found a little while ago from Stephanie Alexander's The Cooks Companion. I have cooked them many times and are a great go to, also done in the processor!

Book: http://www.jamieoliver.com

Recipe: Roast Meatloaf with Tomato, Basil and Garlic

Ingredients: 

Serves 6

2 red onions, roughly chopped

1 tablespoon coriander seeds

1 large pinch ground cumin

1 kg quality lean beef mince

2 free-range eggs

2 tablespoons breadcrumbs

8 sticks fresh rosemary, about 10cm long

10 ripe red and yellow cherry tomatoes

2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

olive oil

1 small bunch fresh basil

Method: 

Preheat the oven to 220ºC/425ºF/gas 7.

Whiz the onions, spices and the meat in a food processor until well chopped together. Pulse in the eggs and the breadcrumbs and season generously with salt and pepper. Tip on to a work surface and shape into 8 balls.

Strip the leaves off the bottom of the rosemary sticks, leaving the leaves on the tops (reserve the stripped leaves). Cut the ends of the rosemary sticks at an angle and push a stick through each ball of meat, leaving the tufty, leafy bit sticking out.

Chop the tomatoes in half and squeeze out and discard most of the seeds. Chop a little more and spread out with the garlic and the chopped-up extra rosemary leaves in 1 or 2 small roasting trays. Season and drizzle with just a little olive oil.

Place a baking rack over each tray of tomatoes and lay the meatloaf balls on top. Put the tray in the oven for 30 minutes or until the meat is cooked and crisp on the outside. Cover the rosemary sticks with foil if they start to look too brown. (The tomatoes taste fantastic with all the meaty juices from the meatloaf stirred in.)

Serve 1 meatloaf per person with some tomatoes and juices from the tray. Sprinkle with fresh basil just before serving.

Changes Made: I did not have any rosemary to slide through the middle, perhaps that would have helped. 

Results: It was OK. For some reason there wasn't really much liquid, not sure why, which caused the whole dish to be a little off. Nice for rissoles, not for meatloaf. 

Next Time: Look into another recipe for a larger meatloaf.