The meatloaf has European origins; minced meat loaves were cooked already in the 5th century, and were mentioned in the famous Roman cookery collection “Apicius”. Meatloaf is a traditional German, Belgian and Dutch dish, and it is a cousin to the Italian meatball. American meatloaf has its origins in scrapple, a mixture of ground pork and cornmeal served by German-Americans in Pennsylvania since Colonial times. However, meatloaf in the contemporary American sense did not appear in cookbooks until the late 19th century. [Source: Wikepedia]
This meatloaf recipe is absolutely delicious, with a bit of an Italian spin and a little bit of Spanish fusion. You’re going to absolutely love it! Enjoy!
Carla's Meatloaf Recipe
Author: Carla Crudup
Recipe type: Main Dish
Cuisine: Classic American
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup onion, chopped
- ½ cup green bell pepper, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 11/2 lbs. lean ground beef
- ⅓ cup dried breadcrumbs
- 2 teaspoons dried italian seasoning
- 2 tablespoon ketchup
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
- 1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup grated manchego cheese* (optional)
- cooking spray
- Sauce: ½ cup ketchup
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon mustard
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, bell pepper and garlic and sauté for 2 minutes. Let cool.
- In a large bowl combine, ground beef, onions, bell pepper, garlic and remaining ingredients and mix well. Transfer to 9 x 5 loaf pan coated with cooking spray.
- Bake for approximately 45 minutes. In a small bowl mix sauce ingredients together. Add sauce over meat and continue to bake for an additional 5 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand for 10 minutes.
Notes
*Feel free to use any type of cheese you like. As a suggestion, sharp cheddar, parmesan, romano and smoked cheeses work quite well with this meat loaf recipe. I decided to use one of my favorites, the manchego cheese. Manchego cheese is a spanish cheese made in the La Mancha region of Spain from the whole milk of sheep. The cheese is firm in texture, well developed and has a lovely distinctive flavor. It’s great to eat and pairs very well with a robust red wine or sherry.
Great idea to use manchego cheese! I’ll give that a try when I make meatloaf.
Let me know what you think when you try it!
I tried this recipe, substituting ground turkey. It was great! Carla, your recipes rock!