Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Middle Eastern Meatloaf


This is a handy meatloaf: not hard, made in stages, excellent flavor. I pair it with yogurt cucumber salad or tomatoes, and oiled baked potatoes or couscous. Here, all the food is local and most of it is organic too.

This evening, I had also pinched off the tops of my coleus plants and loved their rich color so much I floated them in a bowl.  The pleasures of a pretty table. . .

Middle Eastern Meatloaf (from Simply in Season)

In food processor, chop very fine:
1 med. onion
1/2 c. fresh parsley, stems included

Add and process until smooth:
1 pound ground beef
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. EACH nutmeg, allspice, coriander, pepper

Pat into 9x9 baking dish and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.  Bake at 350 for 1 hour.  I try to follow a recipe exactly the first time I make it and I was doubtful about those spices, but fear not: they are subtle and perfectly proportioned.  Sometimes I double the batch so we can have leftovers in pita with cucumbers and yogurt sauce.  I've been meaning to grill this meatloaf, but haven't yet.

5 comments:

Rachel said...

margo--am i confused? is the meatloaf the little brown round things that look like buns? the cucumber salad....mmmmm summer.

Margo said...

Rachel, the size of the photo cut off the meatloaf - thanks for pointing that out. It's on the far right in the first photo. The things you saw are the potatoes!

beth said...

Looks good. What do think it would taste like with ground turkey?? or chicken??

Margo said...

Beth, the original recipe also lists ground mutton as an option (which I've never ever come across!), so I think you should try ground poultry. Report back, please, if you do!

beth said...

Thanks Margo! I may give it a go soon! We love middle eastern food here at my house!