Meatloaf

Although red meat is supposed to kill us all with an assortment of saturated fat, cholesterol, cancer, heart problems and mad cows disease. Research is showing that lean cuts of red meat, as part of a healthy balanced diet are no worse for us than any other meat. Beef contains plenty of protein, B complex vitamins, zinc and iron, which are both easily absorbed from meat.

New studies are showing that the original link between red meat and heart disease were incorrect, the link has now been made to high levels of the bad, LDL cholestrol, typically associated with diets high in saturated fats. Lean cuts of red meats do contain some saturated fat, but the average 100 gram cut of lean beef contains around 5g of saturated fat, which is about one quarter of your recommended daily amount. This of course varies on which cut of beef you use, but if you stick to lean steaks, lean cuts of meat and less than 5% fat mined beef you should be alright.

We picked up a whole pile of reduced price packs of extra lean beef mince a couple of weeks ago in the supermarket and stocked up the freezer and I was looking for ideas for healthy things to do with it. I found a few ideas but decided on trying this meatloaf recipe. The recipe I found was already healthy, but I managed to tweak it a little further to see if it could be even better.

Ingredients:

1 small courgette, grated
½ a red pepper, finely chopped
1 small onion, minced
1 tbsp water
1 large egg
2 tbsp tomato puree
4 tsp whole-grain mustard
4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp dried marjoram
¾ tsp salt
½ tsp paprika
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
150g rolled oats / porridge, blitzed to look like bread crumbs
600g lean (90% or leaner) beef mince
2 tbsp barbecue sauce

How to:

1. Preheat oven to 190°C. Spritz a baking sheet or loaf tin (22cm x 12cm x 6cm deep) with cooking spray.
2. Place courgette, red pepper, onion and water in a microwavable bowl, cover and microwave on high for about 4 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. 
3. Drain the vegetables in a sieve, gently pressing out as much moisture as possible; spread out on a large plate to cool slightly.
4. Whisk egg, tomato puree, mustard, Worcestershire, marjoram, salt, paprika and pepper in a large bowl.
5. Add the vegetables and stir together. Next add the oats / porridge and mix.
6. Add beef and gently mix with clean hands to combine with the vegetable mixture, , don't overwork the mixture as it will make the meatloaf tough.
7. Form the meat mixture into a loaf shape on the prepared baking sheet, or fill the loaf tin. Spread the barbecue sauce over the top of the loaf.
8. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes. 
9. Let rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

Serves 6.

We ate this with mashed potatoes, green beans, gravy and fried onions.