This recipe came about from a simple question from my ten year old ‘What does a meatloaf taste like?’
He had been watching an American cartoon where the family were eating meatloaf for tea and he obviously thought it a most peculiar concept, a loaf made of meat.
Meatloaf was one of the dishes I learnt to make at school umpteen years ago and I remember making it on several occasions for my family when I lived at home. With not a little tinge of sadness I realised that the last time I made one was about forty years ago.
So with no further ado, the very next day I set myself the task of rectifying the situation. I would satisfy my son’s curiosity and create a new family recipe for meatloaf that he will remember and hopefully cook for his children in years to come.
This is basically the same recipe as I recalled from all those years ago, I remember it being a very simple combination of beef mince, breadcrumbs, onion and egg but thought to add some strong cheddar cheese for extra flavour. I use cheese in my Cheesy Sausage Rolls and I know my son loves these so took the chance that it would work here too.
It was really nice to sit down to such a homely meal that neither my husband or son had eaten before, both of them absolutely loved it and so for once I am quite pleased that my son was watching some rubbish on the box otherwise this really great dish would have never arrived on my table.
There was a piece left over and it was quite funny to hear my husband and my son arguing over who was going to take it for their lunch the next day.
From the picture of the raw ingredients you may think I have used two eggs but this was a double yolker from my newly laying hens. The recipe uses just one large egg.
- 500g Beef Mince
- 80g Cubed Pancetta, chopped
- 100g Cheddar Cheese, grated
- 1 Large Egg
- 1 Heaped Cup of Fresh Breadcrumbs
- 1 Medium Red Onion, finely chopped
- 2 Tablespoons Tomato Puree
- 1/2 teaspoon dried Oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon dried Thyme
- Salt and Pepper (You can be generous with the pepper but remember the cheese may be quite salty)
- Preheat the oven to 170c (fan)
- Put all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix together until well combined. I find using your hands is the best way to do this.
- Put the mixture in the lined tin and press down.
- Cook in the oven for 40-45 minutes until brown and shrinking slightly from the sides of the tin.
- Using the baking paper, carefully lift the loaf out of the tin.
- There will be some juice around the loaf. Snip one corner of the paper at the bottom and let it drain out.
- Serve.
