Enough with the desserts already.
This recipe makes a goodly amount of meatloaf -- a whole lot, actually. Enough for meatloaf sandwiches for days, and meatloaf sandwiches are the best reason to make meatloaf.
I lobbied to make gluten-free veggie loaf, but it was cold and snowy today and after eating stir-fried cabbage for lunch, we felt the need of some non-vegetable sustenance.
It would be foolhardy to bake this in a loaf pan. Too much bubbling fattiness. Baking it on a regular rimmed cooking sheet lets the fat drain to the edges. It would be foolhardy to top this loaf with ketchup, too, for reasons of good taste.
1/3 cup dry, fine gluten-free breadcrumbs
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup flaxseed meal
1 large egg
1/4 to 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (c'mon, don't skimp)
1 tbsp herbes de Provence
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp soy sauce
1/2 to 1 tsp hot pepper sauce
lots of freshy ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, minced
1 small carrot, grated and then minced finer
1 lb ground beef
1 lb ground pork
Preheat the oven to 350F. Combine bread crumbs, milk, flaxseed meal, egg, cheese, herbes, mustard, soy sauce, and hot sauce and mix very well. Set aside while you mince the vegetables.
Stir in the minced vegetables. Then fold in the ground beef and pork until well combined but not so squished together that it's gross and there's no differentiation in texture. Pat the mixture down into the bowl to make it cohere and turn it out onto a rimmed baking sheet. Pat and shape the loaf into a compact rectangle, making the loaf about an inch and a half thick.
Place the pan in the centre of the preheated oven. After 30 minutes, remove from oven and baste with any accumulated pan juices. Return to oven, removing to baste again every ten minutes until the loaf is cooked through to an internal temperature of at least 160F, a total of 50 to 60 minutes. Remove from oven and place pan on a tilt to allow fat to drain off. Let stand for 15 minutes before slicing and serving.
