Meatloaf isn’t pretty, is it. There’s no way to possibly photograph meatloaf to make it look like an enticing appetising food, but I have to say, despite its appearance, this meatloaf is awesome! I’ve been making this meatloaf recipe for years now and my family love it. Even the children, and when it comes to getting kids to eat meatloaf all parents know that can be a tricky affair.
The original recipe is one I’ve adapted from the Dairy Book of British Food (1988) but I’ve upped it a notch by stuffing it with spinach and mozzarella cheese. My initial plan was to fill it with Shetland Cheese reeky jack, a local smoked Monterey Jack cheese, but I haven’t seen that cheese in my village shop for awhile, so I’ve used mozzarella instead for the purposes of sharing the recipe. Any gooey lovely melting cheese could be used.
The first time I’d ever had a stuffed meatloaf was while visiting my father on the west coast of Canada. He made a meatloaf from the minced wild moose meat given to him by a friend and he stuffed it with spinach, cheese and pine mushrooms we’d harvested that day from the forest behind his house. It was heavenly! I don’t have a photograph of the meatloaf (this was before I started religiously photographing my food!) but I do have a photo of the mushrooms and of him picking them.
Harvesting Pine Mushrooms in British Columbia, Canada
As the mozzarella cheese I used for this recipe was on its best-before date, and the spinach was starting to wilt in my fridge and needed using up I am sharing this recipe with the No Waste Food Challenge hosted this month by the lovely Michelle over at Utterly Scrummy. If I had mushrooms I would have thrown them in too.
I’m also linking up to a new food blogging challenge on the block by #Bibs2014 Food Finalist Lucy over at Supergoldenbakes: #CookBlogShare. Each Monday she’ll put up a new linky for folk to share their recipes with. Do pop over for a look!
Table of Contents
Spinach & Mozzarella Stuffed Meatloaf
Ingredients
For the meatloaf
- 15 grams butter
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 1 tsp smoked mild paprika
- 500 grams lean steak mince
- 75 grams fresh breadcrumbs
- 1 garlic clove crushed
- 4 tbsp tomato puree
- handful fresh chopped herbs parsley, marjoram, basil, etc
- 1 egg beaten
- sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper
Filling
- 120 grams spinach tough stalks removed
- 150 grams mozzarella cheese
- sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper
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Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180 C / 350 F. Line a 2 litre bread pan with baking paper. Set aside.
- Melt butter in a skillet and sauté onion until softened (a few minutes). Add paprika and sauté a further minute.
- Mix beef, breadcrumbs, garlic, tomato purée, herbs, egg and onion mixture together in a large bowl using your hands to combine thoroughly. Season well with salt and pepper.
- Wash and chop the spinach, removing any tough stalks. Cook in a dry pan until wilted. Drain excess liquid if required.
- Lay out a sheet of greaseproof paper on your work surface.
- Press meat out into a rectangle the length of you bread pan and 1/2 inch thick.
- Sprinkle with a layer of chopped cooked spinach and then with a layer of torn mozzarella cheese.
- Using the greaseproof paper to help. start rolling along the short side of the rectangle. Press into shape as you roll.
- Close both ends of the meatloaf by firmly pressing the edges together.
- Place the meatloaf in the bread pan and cover tightly with tin foil so that no moisture can escape.
- Place tin in a large casserole pan filled with 1 inch of water.
- Bake for 90 minutes. Remove the foil and broil for a few minutes under a high heat if you want to crisp up the top.
- Serve with creamed potatoes and extra veg. Leftovers (if there are any!) freeze very well.
Environmental Information
Daydream adventurer. Expat Canadian. Foodie. Calls Shetland home, for now. One eye is always on the horizon.
Margaret Gallagher says
Npt something ive tried before – sure the family will really enjoy the taste – quick and easy too
Zoey P says
Never thought to try this combination, but it sounds delicious.
Paul Wilson says
I like a bit of meat loaf.
bev says
Looks delicious!
Eleanor Wigmore says
This looks great. I made meatloaf the other day for the first time. I might use this recipe for my second attempt.
Honey says
Looks yummy!
KATE SARSFIELD says
Ooh, this looks good! Def. one to be tried out this w/end>
Heather Haigh says
I have never made or even eaten meatloaf but it sounds very tasty.
Michelle Utterlyscrummy says
Such an easy and delicious family dinner and a great solution to cheese and greens past their best in the fridge. Perfect for making in advance, putting in the fridge and quickly shoving in the oven in the evening. I’ve made meatloaf quite a lot but never with stuffing, will definitely give this a go. Thanks so much for letting me host and for linking up with No Waste Food Challenge this month 🙂
Laura says
You know, I’ve never had meatloaf, always imagining it to be something full of rubbish that I wouldn’t like but I’ve no idea why because reading yours makes it sound delicious. I’m going to suggest it to my mum to make one day when she has some mince and doesn’t feel like making a cottage pie =)
Elizabeth says
Oh you have to try it! A good meatloaf is one of those amazing comfort food dishes. Of course, a bad meatloaf can ruin the notion of meatloaf ever again, but this one is nice – promise! 🙂
Anne's Kitchen says
I’ve not made meatloaf in ages, you have photographed it well – mine looked like er well best not go there.. Love the gooey cheese and spinach filling idea, definitely something I will try!
Elizabeth says
Thanks Anne – you should give it a go when the weather is a bit dreary outside. It’s excellent comfort food 🙂
Emily says
What a fab idea! Never tried making anything like this so will have to give it a go xx
Elizabeth says
Thanks Emily 🙂 I do love a good meatloaf, me! You should try it!
Emily @amummytoo says
That’s beautiful! Really, really appealing – and I’ve never seen it done this way before. Fab.
Elizabeth says
Aw thanks! I don’t think there are many meatloaves where one can say that, haha! 😀 Thanks for popping by!
Dominic says
god this looks gorgeous… i’ve never made a meatloaf and you make it look so easy and so yummy… love how it also looks so contemporary with the mozzarella, I love it!
Elizabeth says
Thank you Dom! I can’t believe you’ve never made meatloaf before, oh you’ve been missing out! 🙂
Honest Mum says
How delicious does this look! Wow, will have to make this-I eat mozzarella constantly! Thanks for linking up to #tastytuesdays
Elizabeth says
Thank you! Glad you like the look of it 🙂
Ciara Attwell (@MyFussyEater) says
I think you did a pretty good job of photographing it. It looks yum!
Elizabeth says
Thank you Ciara 🙂
Alison says
I think you have succeeded in making meatloaf look delicious. I am tempted to try this, never liked the look of meatloaf before
Elizabeth says
Aw thanks! 🙂 I do hope you try it – it’s so easy to make and tastes fantastic! 🙂
Javelin Warrior says
I knew there had to be a way to work more nutrition and texture into meatloaf – and this is genius! Love the stuffing and what a beautiful result. Meatloaf may be tricky to photograph, but I think you’ve got a winning shot!
Elizabeth says
Thanks Mark! So glad you like the sound (and look!) of it 🙂
Tarana says
Looks like a really wholesome recipe! Love the combination of meat, spinach, and cheese.
Elizabeth says
Thanks Tarana, I suppose it is a healthier version, somewhat!
Janine ( chezJ9 ) says
Looks great Elizabeth. I used to always use up mince by doing a meat loaf when I was working in busy kitchens and have been meaning to do one in a while. You have just reminded me regarding a recipe I used to do. Thanks for that hun! 🙂
Elizabeth says
Thanks Janine – how do you make your meatloaf?
Merlinda Little (@pixiedusk) says
Been trying to do a decent shaped meatload but its always a fail for me. This process is so helpful! Will go back to tell you if I finally got it right =) #TastyTuesdays
Elizabeth says
Oh do let me know how you get on! 🙂 Thanks for popping by!
Lucy @SupergoldenBakes says
I used to kid that the most difficult food to photograph attractively is meatloaf but you have made a very good job of it! I haven’t made any in over a decade – the stuffing is a genius idea! Thanks so much for linking to #CookBlogShare
Elizabeth says
You can make absolutely anything look stunning with your photography (I am so envious of your glorious, glorious light!) so I reckon you should try 🙂 Thanks for hosting such a fab new challenge (and being so quick to comment!) x