Skip to main content

Lamb and Kidney Bean Meat Loaf

There are few dishes so comforting as a warming meat loaf.  Here I use ground lamb for extra oomph, extended with red kidney beans for texture and color contrast, and to make the dish a bit more flexitarian.

Cooking a mirepoix (mix of onion, celery and carrot) adds a ton of flavor, so don't miss this step.

I cooked this with a Thai sweet chili and tomato sauce for added richness and a bit of kick.


Mirepoix mixture:
1 medium sweet yellow onion
2 carrot, peeled
1 stalk celery
1 tsp herbs de Provence, or Italian herbs

Loaf ingredients:
1-1/2 lb ground lamb
1 can light red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
2 eggs, whisked
1/3 cup Panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 lb Monterrey Jack Jalapeño cheese (or favorite), grated
1/4 cup salsa verde
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 can petite diced tomatoes
1/2 cup Ma Ploy sweet Thai chili sauce

Preheat oven to 425F.  Coarsely chop the onion, carrot and celery and place in a small food processor.  Pulse to form a fine mix - about 1/8-inch; don’t over grind.  Heat a dash of olive oil in a large skillet and sauté the mirepoix mixture for about 8-10 minutes.  
This really develops a whole lot of flavor for the loaf - don’t skimp on time here.
Mix together the cooked mirepoix with the loaf ingredients in a large bowl, just until incorporated.  Do not over mix, or loaf will be tough.
Place tomatoes at the base of a very large oiled roasting dish.  Form meat into a loaf form and place on top of tomatoes.  Top loaf with Thai chili sauce.
Roast for about 20 minutes, the turn heat down to 375F.  Roast until meat loaf is cooked through - tent with aluminum foil if loaf begins to burn before cooked through.

Remove loaf from oven when cooked, and allow to rest 5-10 minutes, covered with foil.  Carefully remove loaf from roasting pan and place on carving or serving platter.  Whisk sauce in roasting pan together and pour into a gravy boat.  Slice loaf and serve with sauce.

Serve 6.

Cook’s Note:  Even better: my favorite way to serve this is to wait until the next day and slice thickly.  I then reheat in a non-stick skillet with a dash or olive oil to form a slightly browned surface - this resting not only develops flavor, but also allows a much richer, browner presentation. This is now truly comfort food.

I could have used a slightly larger roasting dish - the sauce crept up the sides of the loaf while cooking - a larger pan would give it air to breathe and brown much more nicely.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Umami Beef Short Ribs Samin Nosrat

This is the penultimate prep for beef short ribs.  Based on the superb documentary by Samin Nosrat, Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat, this is the most umami rib dish you will ever have.  Its the combination of red miso and soy sauce that marinates and flavors the beef - give it a long time to work right - that means overnight in the fridge; it's worth the planning ahead. 6 beef short ribs on the bone, about 3-4 lb 1 large sweet yellow onion, diced 2 stalks celery, diced 1 jalapeño pepper, minced 4 cloves garlic, halved Marinade: 1/4 cup red miso 1/4 cup soy sauce 1/4 cup pale dry sherry or Mirin rice wine 1 Tbsp sesame oil 1 Tbsp honey 2 cloves garlic, minced Salt the ribs generously with coarse salt and let rest overnight in the refrigerator in a resealable plastic bag. Whisk together the marinade.   Pour into the plastic bag and allow to marinate on the counter for about 2-3 hours, or again overnight in the refrigerator. Preheat...

Chicken Piccata over Squid Ink Pasta

Serve this delicious lemony piccata over your favorite pasta. 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded to 1/2-inch thick cutlets 1/4 cup flour 1 lemon sliced and de-seeded  2 Tbsp butter plus 1 Tbsp olive oil 2 Tbsp capers 2 cloves garlic, minced 1/4 cup dry white wine crushed red pepper flakes, to taste 8 oz squid ink pasta fresh parsley for garnish Melt butter in the oil in a skillet.  Fry the lemon slices for a few minutes, just until beginning to brown.   Set aside on a plate.  Lightly salt and pepper each chicken breast.  Dredge the chicken in the flour and brown the first side of each in the butter mixture in the skillet.  Flip to brown second side.  Cook over low heat for a total of about 15 minutes.   Meanwhile, bring 2 quarts of well-salted water to a boil for the pasta.  Cook until just al dente. Remove chicken to a plate when cooked through. Add capers and garlic to skillet a...

Vinaigrette Erique 2.0

From the archives:  Making a really, really good vinaigrette has been a craft in my family, and in my in-law family for generations. My late uncle, Jeannot, and Father-in-law, Bernard, (both best of friends) were each geniuses at the vinaigrette. And they both taught me. I have to say my siblings along with my sisters and brothers in-law do really now carry on the tradition as I strive to as well.  In our family cookbook "Cuisine Encore" I published my go-to vinaigrette - a basic version taught to me by my French mother, Monique.  It's great, yet I have been looking for something slightly more modern and upbeat.  So I merged Asian rice vinegar into the mix along with fresh (not powdered) garlic with the Dijon mustard, and toned down the salt. Make it your own. I now have what I think is an even better basic vinaigrette, today. Talk to you tomorrow! 1/4 cup cider vinegar 1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar 1 generous tsp Dijon mustard 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 cup ca...