The Best Meatloaf You’ll Ever Taste… Ever!

It’s a staple in almost every kitchen. It has hundreds – nay, thousands – of variations. It’s delicious, nutritious, and packed full of protein.

It’s meatloaf!!

This meatloaf recipe from London restaurant Towpath is sure to delight everyone in your household. And who knows, it may even end up taking the place of your tried-and-true family recipe.

The following recipe is an excerpt from Towpath by Lori De Mori and Laura Jackson. It has been adapted for the web.

(Photos by Scott MacSween and Joe Woodhouse)

I first made this recipe when we decided to collaborate with the amazing Dario Cecchini from Panzano. Dario is a dear friend of Lori’s and runs a beautiful if not mad butcher’s shop/restaurant. Imagine turning up and hearing the butcher recite a long and passionate excerpt from Dante’s Inferno or to hear opera music blaring through the little village.

We thought it would be a lovely idea to put on a Towpath dinner in the spirit of Dario. Dario would send me a whole load of his recipes. I would mess around with them, test them out, put my Towpath take on them and he would come over for the dinner. He would sing, recite poetry, blow his horn, dress in the colours of the Italian flag and I would pay homage to his dishes as interpreted by me. Initially, this was quite daunting as I didn’t want to disrespect him or his dishes, but being the super passionate and enthusiastic man that he is, he loved everything. We decided that this would become an annual affair and we did it for three years, but we have been unable to coordinate over the last few years. I have faith, though, that it will happen again. Do not be disheartened by the colour and texture of the meat loaf. It almost looks like a loaf of bread – but trust me that once you bite into it with a blob of Dario’s mostarda, your mouth will just melt away with the juiciness of it.

Serves 6–8

Ingredients

150g / 5 1/2oz onions, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
50g / 2oz unsalted butter
800g / 1 3/4lb minced beef
200g / 7oz minced pork
40g / 1 1/2oz beef suet, finely grated
115g / 4oz old bread, soaked in milk and when soft, really squeezed out
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 generous pinches of chopped thyme
3 teaspoons salt
100g / 3 1/2oz breadcrumbs, or enough to coat the loaf
pepper

Procedure

1. Sweat the onions and garlic in the butter over a low heat until they become soft and translucent. Season to taste and leave to cool.
2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, mix the beef, pork, suet, bread, eggs, thyme, the salt and some pepper. Mix thoroughly for a couple of minutes to tenderise.
3. When the onion-garlic mixture is cool, add to the meat and mix well so everything is evenly distributed.
4. On a clean surface, flatten and bash the meat mixture. Repeat several times to tenderise, then form a very smooth, tight loaf. Leave to rest in the fridge on a lined baking tray for at least 30 minutes. You can also leave this overnight in the fridge.
5. Preheat the oven to 180°C fan/400°F/gas mark 6.
6. Once rested, take the meat loaf from the fridge. Pour the breadcrumbs into a tray and roll the meat loaf in the crumbs until coated. Wrap the loaf tightly in fresh greaseproof paper, making sure you put the fold on the bottom of the tray to prevent the paper from opening during cooking.
7. Cook for 50 minutes and then remove the greaseproof paper. Turn up the heat to 200°C fan/425°F/gas mark 7 and cook for an extra 10 minutes so the meat loaf turns a lovely golden brown.
8. Rest for 10 minutes and serve sliced with mostarda, chickpeas or cannellini beans and cavolo nero.

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