Crowd Pleasing Good Ol' Fashioned Meatloaf

Searching through old recipes that fill the belly and comfort the soul and happened upon an old favorite. I’d forgotten about meatloaf. When my kids were little and I had a small catering company I used to make this for Friday pickup along with the Zuni Chickens. It always sold out. Feeling a little blue about the pandemic yesterday this felt like the perfect dish to make us briefly forget the disastrous news that almost 1,000 Americans succumbed to the virus, bringing the total number of Americans lost to COVID-19 above the number lost in 9/11.

The meal succeeded. After dinner we (my 2 sons and Ben’s girlfriend) played cards and just enjoyed each other’s company. Silver linings to being Sheltered-in-Place.

Ingredients

1 pound ground beef

1 pound ground pork

1 pound ground veal

1 cup milk

1 cup break cubes (3 or 4 slices Italian country bread, crust removed) (If you don’t have bread on hand you can use panko or

1/2 cup finely Pecorino Romano or Parmigiano

2 Tablespoons minced Garlic (I used 4 cloves)

1 small Onion, minced - I’m not a fan on onion so I tend to use about 3/4 of a small onion

2 Eggs

2 Tablespoons dried Oregano

1/2 cup chopped Parsley

Kosher salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Olive Oil for greashing the pan

1 cup canned plum tomatoes, crushed by hand

1 can of Tomato Paste

3 - 4 Carrots, diced

2 stalks Celery, diced

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350

Put the Bread crumbs or sliced bread into a bowl and pour the milk over the bread. Let it soak.

Meanwhile, mix together the ground beef, veal and pork.

Squeeze the bread and milk mixture into a paste. Add this mixture to the meat and work them together - almost as if you were kneading bread.

Add the cheese, garlic, onion, eggs, oregano and parsley. Season with salt and pepper and knead the mixture together until it is all evenly incorporated.

Oil your pan or pans. I use either a roasting pan, a cookie sheet or ceramic bakers. I usually make two loaves but you can make one big one. Form your loaf or loaves and give it a good pat.

In a separate bowl, squeeze the plum tomatoes, add the juices and the tomato paste. Pour the mixture evenly over the meatloaf. Scatter the carrots and celery in the pan around the loaf.

Put the pan in the oven and bake until a skewer inserted in the center of the loaf comes out warm - about 1 1/2 hours. I like to bake it at 350 for an hour and then raise the heat to 400 for 15 minutes and then check. I like it crispy on the edges! If yours is starting to look too dry, you can tent it with aluminum foil. Remove the pan from the oven and let it cool slightly.

Slice the meatloaf into servings, put one serving on each plate and spoon pan gravy and vegetables over and around the meatloaf.

Some variation suggestions: You can lay some raw bacon strips over the loaf before baking or add sauteed mushrooms to the pan during the last 1/2 hour of cooking.