Making a delicious Meat Loaf is as simple as this!

When i started experimenting with new recipes, i found myself constantly steering towards hearty continental preps. There is something about that cuisine I find simple yet filled with so much flavour and textures.

One such recipe that I tried for the first time (and then many more times) recently is a hearty meat loaf. This is comfort food at its best and is the simplest to put together when you are in the mood for serving something exotic yet dont want to spend too much time in the kitchen.

This can be a perfect Sunday brunch or lunch idea and takes minimum time to prep. Once you have all the ingredients ready you just need to mix in all in a large bowl and transfer to a bread tin and bake. So just a 15-20 minutes of prep and an hour of baking and you will have the most delectable meat loaf you ever had.

The only condition to the meat loaf coming out super is getting hold of very fresh chicken mince. That is the key to this recipe and also combining various flavours to bring out maximum taste. The other quick change i made to the traditional recipe is not to make use of any added fat. The loaf cooked in the natural fat of the chicken mince and comes out just fine. If you want it a bit more moist, you can opt to mix either butter or extra virgin olive oil at the time of mixing. So lets get started.

The other thing which takes this meat loaf to a whole new level is the glaze we make to cover the surface. Part sweet, part tangy, part spicy, one can play around with different flavours. It raises the meatloaf to a whole new level and uplifts the flavour of this meatloaf unbelievably!

Ingredients

– 500 gm Chicken Mince

– 1 large pink Onion – Finely chopped

– 1/2 Cup finely chopped Bell peppers & Tomatoes (Optional)

– 1 tsp crushed garlic

– 1 Egg

– 2 tspn almond flour

– 1/2 cup finely chopped parsley or fresh coriander (as per preference)

– 1 tbsp each of chilli flakes, dried mixed herbs, paprika powder, Black pepper Powder & garlic Powder

– Salt to taste

For the Glaze

– A teaspoon each of Sriracha Sauce, Red Chilli Sauce, Barbeque Sauce and Tomato ketchup mixed together.

Process

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees celcius

2. Wash and drain the chicken mince in a colander very well

3. Transfer the mince in a large glass bowl and add the rest of the ingredients to the chicken. One has the option to slightly sauté the vegetables (onion, bell peppers & the tomatoes) in some olive oil before adding to the mince, but it purely depends on you and the time you have in hand.

4. With a large spoon, combine the chicken well with the rest of the ingredients.

5. Line a bread / loaf tin with a parchment paper and gently pour the mince mixture into it

6. Press the mixture gently with the back of a spoon to level out the surface evenly

7. Now place the tin in a pre-heated oven and bake at 200 degrees for 45 minutes

8. At this point, take the tin out and spread the glaze evenly on top of the meat loaf.

9. Now put it back to the oven for another 15-20 minutes or till the loaf is done and the crust is light brown.

8. Once ready, take the loaf out of the oven and allow it to slightly cool for 10-15 mins

9. Now cut the loaf into slices and serve along with a side of roasted veggies / mashed potatoes or herbed rice

10. You can enjoy any left over meat loaf the next day on between 2 slices of multi-grain bread as well (although i doubt there would be any leftovers as this recipe is a sure winner)

Bon Appetit!