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.

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