Perfect Meatloaf


Ingredients

Meatloaf
3 slices white bread, crusts removed, torn into chunks by hand
¼ cup (12 Teaspoons) whole milk
680 g ground beef
450 g ground pork
2 eggs
2 leaves from fresh thyme sprigs
salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 bacon slices
Tomato Relish
extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 bay leaves
2 red bell peppers, cored, seeded, and finely diced
2 tomatoes, halved, seeded, and finely diced
¼ cup (12 Teaspoons) chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
350 ml ketchup
1 tbsp (3 Teaspoons) worcestershire sauce
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
  2. Coat a skillet with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and place over medium heat.
  3. Saute the onion, garlic, and bay leaves for a few minutes to create a base flavor. Throw in the red peppers and cook them for a couple of minutes to soften. Now add the tomatoes; adding them at this point lets them hold their shape and prevents them from disintegrating. Stir in the parsley, ketchup, and Worcestershire; season with salt and pepper. Simmer the relish for 5 minutes to pull all the flavors together. Remove it from the heat; you should have about 4 cups of relish.
  4. Place the torn white bread in a bowl and add the milk to just barely cover, swish the bread around in the milk and let it sit while you get the rest of the ingredients for the meat loaf together.
  5. This is where you get your hands dirty! In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground beef and pork with 1 1/2 cups of the tomato relish, the eggs, and thyme; season with salt and pepper. Squeeze the excess milk from the bread and add the soaked bread to the meat mixture.
  6. Lightly oil a cookie sheet. Transfer the meat mixture to the center of the cookie sheet and form into a log. Coat the top of the meatloaf with another 1/2 cup of the tomato relish. Lay the bacon across the top lengthwise.
  7. Bake the meatloaf for 1 to 1 1/2 hours until the bacon is crisp and the meatloaf is firm. Rotate the meat loaf while it's baking every now and then to insure that the bacon browns evenly. Remove the meatloaf from the oven and let it cool a bit before slicing. Serve with the remaining tomato relish on the side.