Middle Eastern Meat Loaf
- Total Time
- 1 hour 15 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 1pound lean ground beef
- 1pound ground lamb
- 2eggs
- 1cup milk
- ½cup rolled oats
- ½cup chopped parsley
- 1cup onion, minced
- ½cup green pepper, minced
- Juice of ½ lemon
- Grated zest of ½ orange
- 1cup pine nuts
- 1cup raisins
- 1teaspoon ground allspice
- 1teaspoon dried thyme
- 1½teaspoons salt
- 1teaspoon black pepper
- 2cloves garlic, minced
- 3tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2tablespoons melted butter
- 2tablespoons butter
- 1cup finely chopped onions
- ½cup finely chopped green pepper
- 1bay leaf
- 1clove garlic, minced
- Juice of 1 lemon
- ½cup raisins
- 1teaspoon dried thyme
- 1teaspoon ground allspice
- 4cups canned tomatoes, with their juice
- 2tablespoons tomato paste
- 3tablespoons chopped parsley
For the Meatloaf
For the Sauce
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Preparation
For the Meatloaf
- Step 1
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Step 2
In a bowl, thoroughly combine the ground beef and the lamb. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs. Stir in the milk and oats. Pour into the meats. Mix thoroughly.
- Step 3
Add all other ingredients except melted butter. Mix well.
- Step 4
Shape mixture into an oval loaf and place in a roasting pan. Drizzle with melted butter and bake for 1 hour. Serve with sauce.
For the Sauce
- Step 5
In a skillet, heat the butter. Add the onions, green pepper and bay leaf and saute until onion is translucent and limp, about 5 to 10 minutes.
- Step 6
Add the remaining ingredients, except tomato paste and parsley, breaking the tomatoes into small pieces as you add them. Simmer for 30 minutes, or until sauce begins to thicken.
- Step 7
Add the tomato paste and stir well. Cook 15 minutes. Add the parsley, stir well. Serve over Middle Eastern Meat Loaf.
Private Notes
Comments
After making the mixture according to specifications I cooked a bit to test the flavours. Seriously bland but the texture was nice. To liven it up I then added to the meat mixture: a VERY generous amount of Ras el hanout and harrissa, more lemon and orange zest and juice,
mint (a lot), 6 garlic cloves, another cup of sultanas, cardomon and cumin to the sauce
Marinate overnight. The loaf developed a nice crust and stayed moist. Would also be good as meatballs or bbq patties.
I have my own recipe for a Middle Eastern meatloaf made with dark meat ground turkey, but this was a pleasant change. I would definitely reduce the amount of pine nuts and raisins - especially since raisins are also a component of the sauce.
I search for Persian recipes for flavors I remember from brief visits. The meat loaf and sauce came close to the first meal I had in Iran. I will cook it again. I will reduce the pine nuts and toast first. As suggested, I will increase the spices, citrus, and add sumac. I would suggest that people miss an expanded tasting experience in not using lamb. This was the first time I simply picked up ground lamb from the meat counter. (I've lived in some out-of-the way places recently.)
The comments on adding extra flavor are 100%. I followed everything but added some sumac and garlic and zaatar, if not for my young kids also eating it I think harissa would have done it well. Really great, will make again for sure.
Yes, it needs more of the middle eastern seasonings. I added za’tar, paprika, and cinnamon. It still needed more. Will increase these and garlic. Sauce is good!
After reading other comments about the meatloaf being bland, I made the following adjustments: increased the breadcrumbs, added sumac and Urfa Biber pepper, skipped the oats and milk, reduced the pine nuts. I then cooked the meatloaf for 45 min at 425, and I’d actually adjust that next time to 40 min at 400 degrees. The sauce was tasty, it definitely cooks down quite a bit and becomes less “saucy.”
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