Meatloaf

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PRESENTATION

Meatloaf

What's for lunch? Baked meatloaf. Who among us has never tasted a genuine and rich homemade meatloaf prepared by the loving hands of mothers and grandmothers who, unfailingly on Sundays, churn out this fragrant delicacy capable of summoning all the guests? Baked meatloaf is a traditional recipe with a thousand variations, like the ones filled with spinach or scamorza cheese or made with chicken. Secret ingredients are kept in old recipe books or even just in the memory of the home cooks... one thing is certain and it is that all these variations have one thing in common: meatloaf is an easy recipe to make, which started as a comfort dish and for this reason is versatile in the choice of meat and seasonings. The only undisputed rule: the result of this wise mix must be a soft and succulent dish to accompany tasty side dishes, such as Mediterranean potatoes for example. To those who already have the perfect recipe, to those who are still looking for one and finally to those who have never tried to make one, our baked meatloaf is dedicated to all of you!

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INGREDIENTS

Ingredients for the meatloaf
Beef 1.3 lbs - ground
Sausage 0.9 lb (400 g)
Bread 0.45 lb (200 g) - fresh
Pecorino cheese 1 ⅓ cup (150 g) - for grating
Whole milk ¾ cup (200 g)
Eggs 2 (110 g) - (medium size)
Thyme 3 sprigs
Nutmeg ½ tsp - ground
Fine salt to taste
Black pepper to taste
Extra virgin olive oil to taste
for the potatoes
Red potatoes 1.1 lbs (500 g) - new
Shallot 2
Sage - several leaves
Thyme 3 sprigs
Fine salt to taste
Black pepper to taste
Extra virgin olive oil to taste
Preparation

How to prepare Meatloaf

To prepare the meatloaf in the oven, first remove the crust of the fresh bread with a knife 1, cut it into cubes and transfer it to a bowl: in all, you will need about 1 1/3 cups (150 g) of crumb. Pour the milk 2 into the bowl so that the bread absorbs and softens. In the meantime, break the sausage into small pieces after removing the casing 3.

Pour the ground beef into another bowl 4, then add the sausage 5, the grated Pecorino cheese 6,

the bread soaked in milk and squeezed slightly 7, whole eggs 8, nutmeg 9, a few fresh thyme leaves, salt and pepper.

Knead the mixture with your hands to mix all the ingredients uniformly 10, then make it the shape of a cylinder making sure to push it together well 11. Place the meatloaf on a sheet of baking paper, brush it with olive oil 12 and set it aside for a moment.

Now preheat the oven to 350° F (180° C) in static mode and prepare the side dish: rinse the potatoes under running water 13 and divide them in half 14, then clean the shallots and cut them into 8 parts 15.

Transfer the potatoes into a bowl and add the thyme leaves 16, coarsely chopped sage leaves 17, salt and pepper 18.

Add the shallots 19, season with olive oil 20 and mix well 21.

At this point take a large baking tray, grease the bottom with olive oil and pour the mixture of potatoes and shallots inside 22. Place the meatloaf in the center of the pan 23 and bake in a preheated static oven at 350° F (180° C) for 80-90 minutes. After the cooking time has elapsed, take the meatloaf out of the oven and serve it hot together with the potato side dish 24!

Storage

The baked meatloaf can keep in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 5 days. You can freeze it if you used fresh ingredients. The potatoes can be kept in the fridge for a couple of days.

 

Tips

With leftover meatloaf, you can make the traditional Milanese mondeghili, tasty meatballs typically prepared with leftover meat. To accompany the meatloaf you can also make classic roasted potatoes scented with rosemary. As an alternative to cow's milk you can wet the bread using vegetable milk or water; keep in mind that if the bread is dry it may require a little more liquid. If you prefer, you can flavor the meatloaf with parsley instead of thyme!