Description
Meatloaf with an Italian twist. Pork and beef combined with eggplant.
Ingredients
2 stalks celery
1 large carrot
5 small Sicilian eggplants blanched (1.5 cups blanched and squeezed eggplant)
1 medium yellow onion
3 cups fresh breadcrumbs
454 grams ground pork
454 grams ground veal or lean ground beef
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon salt
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
Combine the celery, carrot, eggplant, and onion in a food processor and whiz together to form a rough puree.
Make the fresh breadcrumbs by pulsing in the food processor. They don’t need to be super fine.
Place the ground meat into a large bowl.
Add the pureed vegetables and breadcrumbs to the meat.
Add the egg and spices and mix the entire mixture by hand very well.
Line two bread loaf pans with parchment paper ( or grease them with olive oil ) and fill 3/4 way with the meatloaf mixture.
Cover with a piece of parchment paper and then tinfoil.
Remove the parchment and tin foil after 30 minutes and continue to bake uncovered for another 30-45 minutes. The tops will be well browned.
Let cool for 10 minutes and remove from the pans to slice.
Notes
Lean ground beef will work well as a substitute for veal but medium or regular ground beef will cause a lot of shrinkage. It will also cause too much liquid and stop the meatloaf from browning nicely.
Using freshly ground bread instead of dry breadcrumbs makes a huge difference and adds to the tenderness and juiciness of this meatloaf.
