Wednesday, July 23, 2008

New Favorite Meatloaf Recipe!


I was pretty satisfied with my favorite meatloaf recipe. My other favorite, is Martha Stewart's recipe. I still love these two recipes, but Dave Lieberman's recipe is a serious contender for best meatloaf ever. I was in Sur La Table last week looking for Couer a la Creme molds for next weeks Barefoot Bloggers bonus recipe. I noticed Dave's cookbook on a sale table. I can't resist a cookbook so I started flipping through it. Several recipes looked really good so I decided to add one more book to my ever growing collection. One recipe that particularly intrigued me was the recipe for Bubby's Meatloaf and Red Pepper Sauce. The recipe was really simple and I was skeptical as to whether we would like this or not as it was very different from my other recipes. Well not to worry, this recipe tastes like the type of meatloaf you would get at an old-fashioned diner. The bell pepper sauce gives the meatloaf a sweet and sour style tang. This meatloaf was also incredibly moist. This is comfort food at its very best. If the rest of the recipes in the book are as good as this one, the book was a really good deal! I won't retire my other meatloaf recipes. Michael Chiarello's is a great Italian style meat loaf and Martha's is a classic savory dish with a little gourmet pizzaz. We really like meat loaf so it is nice to have several wonderful recipes to choose from.

Bubby's Meatloaf and Red Pepper Sauce
Source: Dave Lieberman's A Fresh Approach to Home Cooked Dinners
Meatloaf:
2 pounds ground beef
2 eggs
3 ounces tomato paste (1/2 of 1 small can, reserving rest for the sauce)
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 cup plain bread crumbs (I added some additional oatmeal and bread crumbs since I only had 1 lb ground beef and added enough sauce for 2 lbs)
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, pressed

Red Pepper Sauce:
3 ounces tomato paste (from reserved 1/2 can)
1 small onion, roughly chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled
1 small red pepper, seeded, cored, and roughly chopped
1 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
15 grinds black pepper

Meatloaf:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large mixing bowl, mix together all the ingredients for the meatloaf and work together completely by hand until all ingredients are evenly distributed and the mixture is uniform. Place meat mixture into a 9 by 13-inch baking dish and shape into a loaf about 11 inches long and 4 inches wide. It is important to form it like this so that it cooks evenly throughout. The loaf should be in the middle of the pan with room on both sides for the sauce to pool.

Red Pepper Sauce:
Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Cover the meatloaf with the sauce and allow excess sauce to pool around the meatloaf. Cover pan with aluminum foil but avoid contact with meat loaf by leaving at least a couple inches of space between the top of the meatloaf and the foil. Bake for 45 minutes, then uncover and bake 45 minutes longer. Let rest for 15 minutes before cutting and serving.








1 comment:

What's Cookin Chicago said...

It's nice to know Dave Lieberman has great recipes other than ice creams!