Meatloaf

Some leftovers of meat from a huge banquet? Or maybe you want to do an elegant main course for your meal using chopped meat? Meatloaf or meat pie is your solution.

INGREDIENTS (serving 4)

• 400 grams / 14 oz of meat obtained from leftovers varied (chicken, turkey, pork, etc)
• Boneless and stuffed olives (about 20)
• 4 eggs
• Red peppers, bell peppers etc
• Tomato sauce (100 ml, about half a cup)
• Bread crumbs
• Chopped parsley
• A clove of minced garlic
• Salt
• Black pepper
• Baking paper
• A square, narrow and deep pan that can go in the oven

Chop the meat and mix in a bowl with two eggs, tomatoes, a teaspoon of salt, a pinch of pepper, a teaspoon of parsley, a clove of minced garlic and a few tablespoons of bread crumbs and olives and peppers. Knead dough until smooth.

Meanwhile boil the two remaining eggs for about 12 minutes. These two boiled eggs will be used to stuff meat, like olives and peppers, so they are not really "mandatory".

Now let's fill the mold to bring to the oven. Here are two options: use a silicone mold or a mold of conventional steel. In the first case you will be very easy to unmold the cake while in the second it is necessary to cover the container with baking paper or you run the risk that the the dough will stuck.

We extend a first layer with half of the dough and place the two boiled eggs thus when cutting the cake we will cut them into slices. Then we incorporate the remaining dough and with the help of a spoon or spatula we will compress it.

Preheat oven to 200 degrees C / 392 F and enter the mold for half an hour. The dough will rise, although it is normal to get it back down a bit when cooler. If you want to check if the dough is done you can simply stick a toothpick in the center and whether to remove it is dry, it will mean that it is done.

Note that if instead of using leftovers of cooked meat - the remains of poultry and roasts - you use raw meat you use the same method of preparation but the cooking time should be at least 1 hour at 220 degrees / 428 F.

The meatloaf is served in an elongated plate, at ambient temperature or hot, salad surrounded by a garnish of mushrooms, potatoes etc and optionally with ketchup and mayonnaise. If you want, you can do without fillings - olives, egg etc - and spend the dough by electric mixer, so you get something like foie gras pathe.