Pot Roast Meatloaf

I promised you this recipe and here it is. This meal was amazing, you need a bit of time to prepare it but it is well worth it.

It is from Jamie Oliver's Ministry of Food book, which Jewhurst got as a Christmas present from his mum. I like Jamie's recipes - he likes to use lots of ingredients to get maximum flavour, and his style of writing is easy to read.

Meatloaf is one of those dishes I always pictured to be processed and nasty, until I went to America and had some for Sunday dinner with garlic mash and green beans. I realised that meatloaf is a wholesome and tasty dish, made with pure minced beef rather than offcuts and fillers. It's basically a giant homemade beef burger, and therefore it didn't take much to convince Jewhurst to make it!

Jamie Oliver's Pot Roast Meatloaf (Jewhurst Family Version!)

Pre-heat your oven to full whack. Heat some olive oil in a pan and fry off one onion, along with a teaspoon each of ground coriander and ground cumin. Once soft, put in a large bowl to cool.

Meanwhile, crush 12 Jacobs Cream Crackers in a plastic bag with a rolling pin or blitz in a food processor. Tip into the bowl of onions, and add 2 tsp dried oregano, 2 tsp Dijon mustard, and 500g minced beef. Crack in one egg and some seasoning, then with clean hands mix well. 

Place the meat mixture in a baking dish and mould into a fat rugby ball shape. Smear with some olive oil and put in the oven, turning the temperature down straight away to 200degC. Bake for 30 mins.

Meanwhile fry another onion in some olive oil, along with some garlic and a chopped red chilli. Sprinkle 1 tsp smoked paprika and some seasoning. When soft, tip in 2 tins chopped tomatoes, 2 TBSP each of Worcestershire Sauce and balsamic vinegar. I also added a sprinkle of sugar. It is here that Jamie adds chickpeas, but instead we opted for parboiled new potatoes cut into small chunks. Bring the mixture to the boil, then simmer on a low heat.

After the meatloaf has been in the oven 30 mins, bring it out and spoon the sauce around the edge. Put 12 rashers of streaky bacon over the meatloaf and the sauce, and return to the oven to cook for another 10-15 mins or until the bacon is crispy.

Slice up and serve with the sauce, and a nice dressed green salad.

Snapped just before Mum got stuck in!

This should serve 4 - 6, although there was 4 of us and not much left over.....! We are definitely making this again, not just because it is great for visitors but also because I reckon it would freeze brilliantly. No doubt you will see this on Meal Planning Monday posts in the future!