My Italian meatloaf is made extra juicy by soaking bread in grated onion instead of using breadcrumbs. The seasonings for the meatloaf are the same as what is used for homemade Italian sausages, so this really tastes like an Italian meatloaf! And the sauce is made extra tasty by adding the loaf pan juices and cooking the meatloaf IN the sauce for part of the time.
Prep Time15 minutesmins
Cook Time1 hourhr
Total Time1 hourhr15 minutesmins
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: Italian, Western
Servings: 6-8
Calories: 356cal
Author: Nagi | RecipeTin Eats
Ingredients
1 1/2cupsdiced red bell pepper / capsicum(1 large)
1tbspolive oil
2cupsstale white bread, crusts removed, roughly diced (about 3 slices)
1small onion
2tbspcream(or milk)
13 oz / 400 gground pork(mince)
1.6lb / 800 g ground beef(mince)
2eggs
2 1/2tspfennel seeds
3tsppaprika(sweet or smoked)
1 3/4tspsalt
Pepper
Sauce
1tbspolive oil
2garlic cloves, minced
1/2onion, finely chopped (brown, white, yellow)
1.4 lb / 700 g tomato passata or crushed tinned tomatoes(Note 1)
3/4cupwater
2tspdried Mixed Italian Herbs
1 - 3tspred pepper flakes(optional)
Salt and pepper
Instructions
Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Spray a 28cm/11" loaf pan, then line with parchment / baking paper, leaving overhang (Note 2).
Heat oil over high heat. Add capsicum, leave for 1 minute without stirring so it starts to char (burn) then stir and continue cooking to char it more (about 2 minutes in total). Remove and set aside.
Place bread in a large bowl. Grate onion into the bowl, using a normal box cutter (Note 3). Add cream, then use your hands to squidge the mixture together so the bread is completely soaked and starts to disintegrate.
Add remaining meatloaf ingredients, including capsicum. Use your hands to mix it together until JUST combined. Do not over mix otherwise it will become dense.
Press into the loaf pan (Note 4). Drizzle with olive oil then bake for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, make the Sauce.
Take the meatloaf out of the oven. Carefully lift the meatloaf out of the loaf pan (using the paper overhang) onto a work surface. Then transfer the meatloaf into the skillet with the Sauce.
Pour juices in the loaf pan into the skillet. Return to the oven for a further 30 to 40 minutes, or until cooked to your liking.
Take it out of the oven and let it rest for 5 minutes before slicing. Serve the meatloaf with the Sauce, garnished with parmesan if desired.
I like to serve this with mashed potatoes but it is also lovely with pasta.
Sauce
Heat oil in a ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook for 3 minutes until translucent.
Add remaining ingredients. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes on the stove, adjusting salt and pepper to taste.
Take it off the stove. Follow the steps above to place the meatloaf in and bake it.
Notes
1. Tomato passata is pureed tomatoes, plain, without any salt or other flavour additions. Nowadays it is readily available at supermarkets, usually in the pasta section. It costs around the same as tinned tomatoes. If you can't find it, use crushed tinned tomatoes (you can use a blender to puree it if you want, to turn it into passata!).2. "Overhang" simply means using a bigger piece of parchment/baking paper than you need so you can lift the meatloaf out of the pan by holding the paper.3. A box grater is the standard old school grater that you use to grate cheese. Nothing fancy!4. If you don't have a loaf pan, shape into a loaf and place it onto a baking tray.5. Nutrition per serving, assuming 8 servings.