This tastes fantastic, it covers most food groups in one dish, but it cannot be called quick to prepare. But it is definitely worth the finagling, if you like meatloaf, and who doesn’t secretly love meatloaf?
Ingredients
- 1 to 1.5 kg mince (mixture of beef and pork, or beef and the filling from pork sausages)
- 3 slices bread (sourdough, or similar) crusts removed
- 100 ml milk
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1/2 tsp cayenne
- 1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- handful parsley, finely chopped
- salt and pepper
- 600 g english spinach
- handful of mushrooms, finely sliced
- 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
- 3 anchovies, finely chopped (optional)
- olive oil, a slurp
- mozzarella, sliced
- parmesan, grated
- 400 g tin of crushed tomatoes
- 200 ml white wine
Method
Preheat the oven to 200 deg C.
Tear the bread into cubes and soak in the milk for ten minutes. Drain any excess milk off and lightly mash the bread.
Heat the olive oil in a heavy-based frypan, add the garlic and anchovies and sauté, stirring and mashing the anchovies till they dissolve into the oil.
Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are soft and delicious. Put to one side.
Rinse the spinach and then steam, in a large saucepan, in the water that is left on the leaves, for about 5 minutes or until wilted. Drain the spinach, press out excess water then chop roughly.
In a large bowl combine the soaked bread, minced meats, herbs, spices, tomato paste, beaten egg, salt and pepper. Knead till well mixed (this is the visceral part).
Place a large sheet of baking paper on your bench, and spread the mince mixture evenly out on the paper to form a large rectangle of roughly 22 x 28 cm. Down the centre of this rectangle spread a single layer of the spinach, then a single layer of the mushrooms, followed by slices of mozzarella and grated parmesan. Don’t fill to any edge, you need to seal this baby.
Using the paper to help, fold the sides of the mince over the stuffing to form a tight roll. Then, still using the paper to help, roll that roll into a high-sided baking dish, so that the join is underneath. Squish the ends together to seal. Don’t leave the paper in! This can be quite a manoeuvre and may require both swearing and assistance.
Pour the contents of a tin of tomatoes around the loaf, and then add the white wine. Slide the masterpiece you have created into the oven with a sigh of relief. Bake for an hour, or until the top of the loaf is golden brown.
Serve, with the tomato sauce that has been created as it cooked, some boiled potatoes (or similar carb), and something green if you feel the need. A fresh salad? Green beans? And this is just as good at room temperature the next day. Yum.
(Disclosure: this is based on a recipe by Jill Dupleix from the goodfood website. But mine is mine, and I like it more.)