Sausage, Pork and Bacon Meatloaf
Don disposable gloves and get your hands into the bowl to mix meatloaf – it’s the easiest way to make sure all the ingredients are thoroughly combined and that meat doesn’t get under your fingernails!
450g packet sausage meat
500g pork mince
1 onion, finely diced
1 teaspoon crushed garlic
1 teaspoon dried mixed herbs
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons sweet chilli sauce
1 egg
½ cup panko breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning or similar
4-6 rashers bacon (or more if using streaky bacon)
4 bay leaves, preferably fresh
Preheat oven to 180°C. Place the sausage meat, mince, onion, garlic, herbs, sauces, egg, breadcrumbs and Cajun seasoning into a large bowl and mix together well.
Line a 5- or 6-cup loaf tin with 4 bacon rashers, leaving an overhang at each side of the tin. Fill the tin with sausage meat mixture, pressing it in well. Fold over bacon rashers and lay remaining rashers on top. Decorate with bay leaves.
Cover tin with foil and place in a water bath (a large container half-filled with hot water). Bake 30 minutes then remove foil and bake a further 30 minutes or until the loaf is golden and bacon is crisp.
Test with a skewer in the centre of the loaf; juices should run clear or very pale pink. Drain off any excess liquid while meatloaf is hot.
Serve hot, warm or cold with tomato chilli jam or your favourite chutney
or sauce.
Serves 6
Dark Chocolate Self-Saucing Pudding
We’ve amped up the decadence factor of this favourite dessert by using chocolate rather than the usual cocoa in the sauce. The result is a rich, fudgy pudding.
1 cup self-raising flour
2 tablespoons cocoa
½ cup caster sugar
½ cup milk
1 large egg
60g butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
200g dark chocolate melts, buttons or pieces
1¼ cups boiling water
Icing sugar for dusting
Thickened cream or vanilla ice cream to serve
Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease a medium pie dish or quite shallow baking dish (if it is too deep the middle won’t cook).
Sift flour, cocoa and caster sugar into a bowl. In another bowl, whisk together milk, egg, butter and vanilla.
Fold wet mixture into dry ingredients until mixed then spread in baking dish.
Put chocolate in a jug, pour over boiling water and stir until melted and smooth. Pour sauce over the back of a spoon onto the pudding (this prevents the liquid creating a hole in the batter).
Bake 25 minutes or until spongy to the touch. Dust with icing sugar and serve with cream or ice cream.
Serves 4-6
This traditional Irish mash is the perfect comforting side for many a winter braise or stew.
6 large (about 1 kg) mashing potatoes, eg agria
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 leek, finely sliced
1 teaspoon chopped fresh sage leaves
½ cup cream
30g butter, softened
1 teaspoon wholegrain mustard
Freshly ground or cracked black pepper
Peel potatoes and chop into similar-sized chunks. Cook in plenty of boiling salted water until tender.
Meanwhile, heat oil in a small pan and sauté leek and sage until softened and fragrant.
Drain cooked potatoes well and mash with cream, butter and mustard until soft and fluffy.
Stir leeks through mashed potatoes and season with pepper.
Serves 4-6
For the full "Humble Beginnings" menu pick up a copy of the June issue, on sale May 28th.
The full menu also includes recipes for chicken sausage burgers, chorizo & chickpea stew and champ with leeks.
