From the Silver Palate..72 Market Street Meatloaf..Venice, CA -This recipe makes two medium-sized loaves. I like to eat one and freeze the other. The leftovers are fabulous.
Items
3 Tb unsalted butter
3/4 cup finely-chopped onion
3/4 cup chopped scallions, white bulb and three inches green (the bottom part)
1/2 cup finely chopped carrots
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1/4 cup finely chopped green pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped red pepper
2-3 tsp minced garlic
salt (to taste, at least 1 tsp)
1 tsp freshly-ground black pepper
1/2 tsp white pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp freshly-grated nutmeg
3 eggs, well-beaten
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup cream or half-and-half
1 lb ground chuck, 1 lb ground veal, and 1 lb ground pork
1 cup fine fresh bread crumbs, toasted
Method
Melt the butter in a large sautée pan over medium heat, and cook the veggies and aromatics (everything up to and including the garlic) until most of the moisture is evaporated, around 10 minutes. The point here is to cook the veggies and get rid of their extra moisture.
Remove from the heat, place in a medium-size bowl, and stash in the freezer to cool down rapidly, at least 10 minutes. You can do this while you’re working on the rest of the dish. Maybe now is the time to make a gin and tonic?
In a large bowl (big enough to hold the meat and knead it), beat the eggs with the spices, cream, and ketchup until well-combined.
Place the meat on top, along with the bread crumbs and cooled veggies. With your hands knead everything together, about five minutes. If at the end of the kneading the mixture seems a little loose, add some more bread crumbs. If desired, top with more ketchup, or ketchup and Worcestershire sauce.
Divide and place into two 8-inch loaf pans. Set in the fridge to rest for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 375F. Place each of the loaf pans in a larger baking dish, and fill the larger baking dish with an inch or so of water. Place both on the middle rack of your oven.
Bake for 35-40 minutes, swapping and rotating the loaf pans about half way through baking to ensure even cooking. Rest for 15 minutes or so before slicing and serving.
Serves a bunch (10 good-sized slices per loaf, or 20 slices total)
