Hearty mini meatloaves in a jiffy
Jeni Pearce offers these flexible, tasty and easy meatloaves, one of the recipes from Cosy, raising money for Meat the Need.
Adapted from my grandmother’s meatloaf recipe, this has become a popular dish with many of the athletes I work with. It’s so flexible. They can use vegetables they already have and, even better, it is easy to prepare.
Meatloaves can be cooked in Texas muffin tins or larger individual loaf tins, and can be individually wrapped and frozen for another meal.
For added flavour, cook the onion in a little olive oil until soft, and leave to cool before adding to the minced beef. Make sure you season well for tasty meatloaves. They can be served hot or cold.
Mighty mini meatloaves
Preparation time: 15 minutes Cook time: 20-25 minutes Makes 6
■ 400g minced beef
■ 1 onion, finely chopped
■ 1 cup grated carrot
■ 1 cup chopped vegetables, such as mushrooms, celery stalks, or use a few frozen peas and corn
■ 1 tablespoon roughly chopped parsley leaves
■ 1⁄2 cup rolled oats or fresh breadcrumbs
■ 1 1⁄2 tablespoons tomato or plum sauce, plus extra for serving
■ 2 eggs, lightly beaten
■ Salt and pepper
■ Small bay leaves and/or sprigs of thyme, optional
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Grease and line six small loaf tins (about 10cm x 6cm x 3cm), with baking paper. Place the beef, onion, carrot, chopped vegetables, parsley, rolled oats or breadcrumbs, tomato or plum sauce, and eggs in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper and, using very clean hands, mix well.
Divide the mixture into six and shape into a loaf shape, placing in the prepared tins as you go. Lightly press a bay leaf or sprig of thyme on each, if using.
Place in the oven and cook for 20-25 minutes. Test with a skewer – the meat juices should run clear.
Remove from the oven and leave to stand for five minutes before serving.
Serve with extra tomato or plum sauce and steamed winter vegetables, and baked or mashed potatoes, kumara or pumpkin.
Jeni Pearce is the head of performance nutrition at High Performance Sport New Zealand. This recipe is one of 40 included in the new Food Writers New Zealand electronic cookbook Cosy. A fundraiser for Meat the Need, a charity which provides meat for food banks and city missions throughout New Zealand, the $10 book is available to download from foodwriters.org.nz.