Meatloaf

To the despair of my parents I never really took to secondary school, I was recently thumbing through some of my old school reports and the running theme was that I had the potential but didn't apply myself, that I was easily distracted and showed disinterest in most subjects other than English or art.

My most dreaded subject was maths and a double lesson of maths was pure purgatory for me. Then along came Mrs Healy, a large American lady who wore 'slacks' and asked you to put rubbish in the 'garbage'. The wonderful thing about Mrs Healy was that she could easily be coerced into telling stories about her homeland, sometimes a whole double maths lesson could pass without a logarithm or fraction in sight.

Mostly Mrs Healy talked about food, she spoke at great length about New York cheesecake which she missed terribly. Cheescake wasn't readily available in England back then. I was desperate to try cheesecake and one day after the school holidays my wish came true. Mrs Healy having returned from a trip home brought me in a slice. It bore no resemblance to the cheesecakes we have come to know and love, this was a dense, rich chunk of cake made from cheese, eggs and sugar with no fancy ingredients added or placed on top, it was delicious.

Another American culinary classic which Mrs Healy loved was meatloaf. We spent a whole maths lesson being taught about the origins of 'the all American meal: meatloaf'. Meatloaf became popular after the invention of the mechanical meat grinder, cheap cuts of meat were tenderised by way of grinding and by combining the ground meat with lots of fillers, stale bread or oatmeal and pureed vegetables, meatloaf provided cheap, nourishing sustenance to people who had fallen on hard times.

At that time I was a vegetarian so meatloaf didn't really appeal to me although I was fascinated by any story that steered us away from maths!

There is no one way to create meatloaf and it's precisely this capacity for reinvention that's allowed this iconic melange to remain so popular over the last century. Ground meat is primary, then the ingredients can be variable, breadcrumbs, crackers, oatmeal, finely diced or pureed vegetables can stretch the loaf further, eggs are essential to bind and moisten.

Ever the economist, I make meatloaf on a regular basis, it's a tasty, nourishing meal and very simple to make, you can prepare it a day or two in advance, wrap in clingfilm and refrigerate until ready to cook.

Meatloaf

Recipe
2 1bs minced beef
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1 carrot, peeled
1 rib celery
1 onion, peeled
4 mushrooms
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 eggs
1 cup breadcrumbs
Pinch of dried herbs
Salt and pepper

Cut vegetables into 1-inch pieces, add to food processor and pulse until vegetables are finely minced
In a pan, heat butter and oil, add vegetable mixture and sauté for 5 minutes
Preheat oven190c/gas 5
Once the vegetables have cooled place in a large bowl with all other ingredients
Mix gently with your hands until everything is combined
Wet your hands and form the meatloaf mixture into a loaf shape

Lightly grease a loaf tin, place meatloaf in tin and cook for 30 minutes
Meanwhile make your glaze
Combine 2 tablespoons of ketchup with 2 tablespoons of brown sugar
After 30 minutes, remove loaf and paint with the glaze, return loaf to oven for 35 minutes
Remove loaf and allow to rest for 10 minutes before slicing

In a separate baking tray I cooked some roughly chopped vegetables, drizzled with olive oil

Well, needless to say I miserably failed my maths GCE, however, I am indebted to the colourful Mrs Healy for brightening up my maths lessons with her wonderful tales.

'Meatloaf is meatloaf is not a true statement. You can have gravy on top, ketchup on top, and don't forget you can also have love on top-however, you must understand that I would do anything, but I won't do that.'
- Jarod Kintz

Love Donna xxxxxxx