I love meatloaf. It’s easy to put together, you throw it into the oven and forget about it, and you can make it as fancy (as in this version) or as simple as you want.
I am also convinced I’ve found the perfect meat for meatloaf – extra lean ground turkey. I picked up a package on a whim at Safeway, since it’s hard enough to find ground turkey or chicken, and to see extra lean ground turkey is even more rare.
What makes extra lean ground turkey so amazingly perfect for meatloaf is threefold:
- Much better for you than ground beef
- Sticks together so well you can dispense with breadcrumbs and egg
- Doesn’t overwhelm more subtle flavours, like ground beef would
I came up with the basic idea for the loaf while at the gym, and then did my usual highly experimental cooking when I got home to throw it together. I realize most people balk at the idea of serving meatloaf when entertaining, but this came together so well, I would serve this at a dinner party.
Ingredients:
- 3 cloves of garlic, roasted (instructions to follow)
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary (or 1/2 tsp dried rosemary)
- 1/2 tsp sage
- 1/3 packet onion soup mix
- approx 1 lb extra lean ground turkey
- 1/3 cup dried cranberries (or fresh, if you have them)
- ground pepper to taste
Method:
1. Pre-heat oven to 350
2. Roast garlic! Take three cloves of garlic and peel them, then put them in a pan and put the pan into your hot oven until the garlic is golden brown – about 10-15 minutes should do it. Check on your garlic a couple of times. Once golden, remove garlic from oven, let cool a bit, then chop/smash into small chunks.
3. In a bowl, combine ground turkey, rosemary, sage, pepper, onion soup mix, cranberries and roasted garlic. Note – if you use fresh cranberries, they will be quite tart. Depends if you like that sort of thing. I do. Mix together until ingredients are well mixed and you can form a loaf that stays together easily.
4. Put the loaf in the pan you roasted the garlic in, then put that in your 350 degree oven, and bake for about 35-40 minutes until cooked all the way through.
5. Slice and enjoy! Smells divine, tastes like Christmas, and is low in fat and calories for a comfort food like meatloaf – served two ravenous roommates.
Funtime Bonus – to serve this at a dinner party:
- Double the recipe
- Instead of making one loaf, make four mini loaves
- Put a tsp of cranberry sauce into the centre of each loaf before baking
- Garnish with crispy fried sage and prosciutto ham, or wrap each loaf in prosciutto before baking!
The Meow Cafe 