Make Ahead Dinners #1: Mini Meatloaf

Here is my first ever installment in my newest venture: sharing my tips and tricks for make ahead dinners that are easy to prepare and are suitable for home freezing. From meatloaf to fish pie to falafel, I have a lot in store!

So, you looking for a make ahead dinner that's comforting and warming? How about some meatloaf, but in mini form for easy storage and reheating?

As we move closer to the winter months, we're all looking for that lovely, warming comfort food to get us through the darkening evenings. Sometimes, after a long day of work or studies, we don't really feel like cooking. But, instead of reaching for that pack of instant noodles or that TV dinner, you could spend an hour of two on a Sunday afternoon when you have some spare time prepping meals for the week. Meatloaf if a good one for minimum input and maximum output! Making mini loaves means you can freeze them, and then just take one at a time out of the freezer for whenever you want them.

I love meatloaf, despite the fact that in this country it's really not popular: it's definitely an American thing. Here in Ireland, mince normally finds itself in cottage pie, burgers, pasties, lasagne, or pasta sauce, but I've never seen an Irish family eat meatloaf. The only people I've seen eat meatloaf are the American people on the telly.

So, one day I decided to make it and it was utterly delicious! I used Chef John Mitzewich's recipe on his zombie meatloaf video at first, but after a few times I tweaked it to have a nice memorable formula: 1 pound of mince, 1 ounce of breadcrumbs, 1 egg, 1 tablespoon of milk, and 1 teaspoon of salt. Now, I add in some aromatic vegetables for extra flavour, but that's the basic formula to make deliciously moist meatloaves every time. I really enjoy making meatloaf with lamb, but you can go with the more traditional beef and pork mince.

This recipe can be made into one big meatloaf in a 1 pound (455 gramme) loaf tin, or into mini ones using a muffin tin, which is what I did. Or, you could even make into balls by hand and braise in tomato sauce; I believe in America meatloaf is often braised in tomato sauce.

My husband, who was raised in the English Midlands, says that they look and taste like faggots (which is an English dish of little loaves of breadcrumbs, herbs, and pork mince and liver). So, if you want lamb faggots, this recipe could work for you!

INGREDIMENTS

1 ounce (30 grammes) unsalted butter or oil

1 small red onion, or a 5-inch (12 centimetres) piece of leek, chopped finely

1 medium carrot, chopped finely

1 ounce (30 grammes) breadcrumbs, or ground almonds for a a gluten free version

1 medium egg

1 tablespoon (15 millilitres) milk

1 pound (455 grammes) lamb mince (preferably 85/15 lean to fat)*

1 teaspoon (5 millilitres) salt

½ teaspoon (2 millilitres) black pepper

Optional: 1 tablespoon (15 millilitres) mint sauce

* You can use any meat you want, but if you're not using lamb you can swap this out for another seasoning, like Worcestershire sauce or horseradish

METHOD

• In a frying pan, sweat the onion (or leek) and the carrot in the butter (or oil) until soft, and then let cool down to room temperature.
• Preheat the oven to 160C (320F).
• I a large, roomy mixing bowl, mix together the breadcrumbs, egg, and milk. Allow to sit for 20 minutes until the breadcrumbs are completely soaked.
• Add in the cooked vegetables and the remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly with a gentle touch.
• Press the mixture into a loaf tin, or divide the mixture 5 or 6 holes on a muffin tin (depending on how big you want the mini loaves), then bake on the centre shelf of the preheated oven for about an hour for the whole loaf, for 25 to 30 minutes for the mini loaves. I use a meat thermometre so I cook the loaves to an internal temperature of 65C.
• If you're making mini loaves, remove the tin from the oven and raise the temperature to 200C (400F). Take the loaves out of the muffin tin and sit them on a flat tray, and bake for a further 5 minutes until nicely browned.
• Serve with mashed potato, steamed vegetables, and plenty of gravy.