Recipe
Horseradish Meatloaf
Print or online media may reprint this excerpt with the following attribution: “Excerpted from Not Your Mother’s Weeknight Cooking, by Beth Hensperger, © 2008, and used by permission of The Harvard Common Press.”
Horseradish Meatloaf
A large meatloaf can take over an hour to cook, but the individual meatloaves in this recipe take only half an hour. The best bread crumbs are made with fresh bread, ground in the food processor, and then oven-dried at 300ºF for 8 to 10 minutes.
Serves 6
Cooking Method: Oven
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 to 35 minutes
1 tablespoon olive oil
3/4 cup minced white onion
1/4 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
2 large eggs
2 1/2 pounds ground beef chuck
2 cups toasted coarse fresh bread crumbs (see above)
2 1/2 tablespoons bottled creamed horseradish
1/3 cup milk or low-sodium chicken broth
3/4 cup ketchup
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1. Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a medium-size sauté pan, heat the oil. Add the onion and bell pepper and cook over medium heat until the onions are translucent but not browned, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool slightly.
3. In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs with a fork. Add the meat and mix with your hands until well blended. Add the bread crumbs; mix well. Add the onion mixture, horseradish, milk, 1/4 cup of the ketchup, the mustard, and salt; mix lightly with a fork. Don’t mash too hard or the meatloaf will be too dense.
4. Divide the mixture into 6 portions and shape each into a small, fat oval loaf. Place on the baking sheet with at least 2 inches in between each loaf and spread the tops with the remaining 1/2 cup ketchup. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until cooked through and the internal temperature is 155º to 160ºF. Serve hot.
