Meatloaf

Loaf

• white bread90 g
• whole milk120 ml
• olive oil1 tbsp
• onions1
• garlic cloves2
• beef mince500 g
• pork mince500 g
• eggs2
• Worcestershire sauce2 tbsp
• Dijon mustard1 tbsp
• flat-leaf parsley3 tbsp
• thyme leaves1 tsp
• salt2 tsp
• black pepper1 tsp

Glaze

• tomato ketchup120 ml
• dark brown sugar2 tbsp
• cider vinegar1 tbsp
• Dijon mustard1 tsp

Loaf

1. 01

   Heat the oven to 180°C and line a baking tray. Tear the bread into small pieces, pour the milk over it and leave it for 10 minutes, then mash it to a smooth paste with a fork.

2. 02

   Finely chop the onion and garlic. Cook the onion in the olive oil over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes until soft and translucent, add the garlic for 1 minute, and tip it onto a plate to cool. Onions still hot from the pan start to cook the mixture before it is even shaped.

3. 03

   Put both minces in a large bowl with the bread paste, the cooled onion, the eggs, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, the parsley, chopped, the thyme, salt and freshly ground pepper. Mix with your hands only until you can no longer see separate streaks of pork and beef. Worked any further the meat turns springy and slices like a sausage.

4. 04

   Shape it on the tray into a loaf roughly 24 cm long and 12 cm wide, doming the top slightly and smoothing the surface with wet hands so that it has no cracks.

5. 05

   Bake for 30 minutes, by which time the outside will be firm and lightly browned.

Glaze

6. 06

   Stir the ketchup, sugar, vinegar and mustard together. Brush half of it over the top and sides of the loaf and return it to the oven for 25 minutes.

7. 07

   Brush on the rest and bake for a final 10 to 15 minutes, until the glaze has darkened and looks tacky rather than wet, and a probe in the centre reads 71°C.

8. 08

   Rest on the tray for 10 minutes before slicing, in slices about 2 cm thick. Cut straight from the oven it sheds juice and the slices break apart.