GUEST POST: MEATLOAF BY RADHIKA AGRAWAL!

“Soon they were all sitting on the rocky ledge, which was still warm, watching the sun go down into the lake. It was the most beautiful evening, with the lake as blue as a cornflower and the sky flecked with rosy clouds. They held their hard-boiled eggs in one hand and a piece of bread and butter in the other, munching happily. There was a dish of salt for everyone to dip their eggs into. ‘I don’t know why, but the meals we have on picnics always taste so much nicer than the ones we have indoors,’ said George.” 

― Enid Blyton, Five Go Off in a Caravan

 

I’m pretty sure most people my age grew up on a steady diet of Enid Blyton books – I certainly did. Whether it was the Magic Faraway Tree, the Wishing Chair, Amelia Jane, or the Famous Five and Secret Seven, and a few years later, Mallory Towers and St. Clare’s, I loved them all. Many years later I learned about how much criticism Enid Blyton and her books had received for supposedly being racist, narrow-minded, classist and sexist.  Keeping those issues aside, however, I think people would agree that Blyton had a knack for making things (yes, especially food) sound completely amazing (even plain old boiled eggs and bread, as in the quote above).  [Also, I’m fairly certain a big part of why I enjoy picnics and cute outdoor-sy restaurants and al-fresco dining in general is because of the descriptions in those books.]

Apart from the regular ol’ jam buns and cucumber or ham sandwiches and lemonade and a few other things which were pretty familiar, a lot of the food in Enid Blyton’s books always sounded oh so exotic to me. Over the years, thanks to pestering my mother to decipher the amazing-sounding dishes, and owing to more stuff being available in India and to travelling, I did manage to try many of those “fascinating” food items, with mixed results – I vaguely remember the disappointment of a 9 year old learning that “Nestlé’s Milk” was just Milkmaid/condensed milk. Sardines were too fishy-smelling, marzipan is quite random, watercress sandwiches are downright gross and treacle tarts, well the ingredients are enough to make a person diabetic. Scones and clotted cream, granted...those are fine. Oh, and I still don’t know how to pronounce Blancmange.

Meatloaf, however, turned out to be a big surprise, in a good way. It’s fairly basic, is super healthy (its meat and vegetables, for the most part) and lasts for a few days in the fridge. Try it!

 

 Recipe by Mum (adapted from a handful of online recipes)

What you’ll need:

750 grams minced meat (we use mutton keema) – if you’re washing the mince, make sure your strain it (you could use a sieve or one of those bowls with small holes at the bottom) and remove the extra moisture.

100 grams breadcrumbs (you can get them at most grocery stores)
1 carrot (minced)
1 cup onion (finely sliced)
1 cup spring onion (minced)
1 sprig of celery, chopped
2 beaten eggs
2 tsp garlic paste (or some minced garlic)
2 tbsp ginger (minced)
2 tbsp butter 3 tbsp fresh herbs – parsley or rosemary or both (minced)
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper (white and black pepper, both, if available)

Note: For mincing the vegetables, ideally use a food processer or vegetable chopper. Otherwise, chop until you get the smallest pieces possible.

For the Topping sauce (optional, but recommended)

5 tbsp ketchup

2 tsp mustard sauce
2 tbsp vinegar
¼ tsp chilli powder
Lime juice, salt and pepper to taste

How to:

1. Preheat your oven to about 200 degrees C.

2. In a pan melt the butter on medium heat until foamy, and brown the sliced onions. Add the celery, spring onions, carrot, ginger, garlic and cook for 2 minutes.

3. In a large bowl, use your hands (there’s really no other way) to mix the meat, eggs, breadcrumbs, herbs and the vegetable mix from the previous step.

4. Season with the salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce. At home, we usually also add some chopped up jalapenos and some mustard sauce (obviously, it isn’t recommended that you taste the raw meat to check if its seasoned properly – just sort of dab a finger on the mix and taste).

5. Press the mixture down into a loaf tin (or two) (or even any baking dish should do) and bake for 30 minutes at 200 degrees.  (Note: Unlike cakes, which rise, the meatloaf actually settles down in height once its baked so don’t worry about how much you fill in).

 

6. Topping sauce: Adding this is recommended because it adds a whole lot of sweet and spicy flavour to the loaf. Mix the ingredients together to make a sauce. Remove the meatloaf from the oven and spread over the top. Stick it back in the oven for another 15 minutes or so.

7. Slice, and serve, either hot or cold.