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Tomato-Glazed Meatloaves with Brown Butter Mashed Potatoes

Source of Recipe

From "The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook" by Deb Perelman


Recipe Introduction

"I'm a sucker for a good meatball. Something happens when you mix otherwise one-dimensional ground meats up with fresh breadcrumbs, herbs, seasonings, and bits of extra ingredients�and that thing is that I will swat your fork away to get at them first. However, it had always been my belief that I held no such adoration for meatloaf. I cleared my throat, stepped up on my invisible soapbox, and pronounced as much on my website one day. And one by one, readers gently whispered to me in the comments, 'Deb, you do realize that meatloaf is like one giant meatball?' Well, no. No, I had not. From that point on, it became my personal mission to retract my hasty remarks by finding meatloaf nirvana, especially once I realized that meatloaves were like meatballs with *even more flavor.* My version is busy with everything�a fine mirepoix, garlic, smoked paprika, piercing Dijon mustard, steak sauce, and a tangy tomato glaze�but I still couldn't get past the typical log-like meatloaf shape. So I decided not to. These little meatloaves masquerading as big meatballs fool nobody except maybe the meatloafphobic."

List of Ingredients

Glaze:
◦ 4 teaspoons vegetable oil
◦ � cup tomato paste
◦ 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
◦ 2 teaspoons honey
◦ 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
◦ 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
◦ � teaspoon table salt

Meatballs:
◦ 2 slices sandwich bread
◦ 1 medium onion, finely chopped
◦ 1 clove garlic, minced
◦ 1 medium stalk celery, finely chopped
◦ 1 medium carrot, finely chopped
◦ Olive oil, for cooking
◦ 1 teaspoon table salt, plus more for vegetables
◦ Freshly ground black pepper
◦ 2 pounds ground beef
◦ 1 tablespoon tomato paste
◦ 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
◦ 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
◦ 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
◦ � cup milk
◦ � cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
◦ 2 large eggs


Recipe

Make glaze: Combine glaze ingredients in a small saucepan, and simmer, whisking constantly, for 2 minutes. Set aside.

Make meatloaves: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Tear the bread into chunks and then blend it, in a food processor, into breadcrumbs. Place the breadcrumbs in a large bowl. Add the onion, garlic, celery, and carrot to the food processor, and pulse it until they are finely chopped.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Once the skillet is hot, coat the bottom with olive oil, and heat the oil for a minute; add the finely chopped vegetables. Season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring frequently, until they begin to brown, about 10 to 15 minutes.

Add the vegetables to the large bowl with breadcrumbs, then add the remaining ingredients. Stir the ingredients together with a fork. With wet hands, form the mixture into twelve 3-inch meatballs; each will weigh about 4 ounces.

Space meatballs so that they are not touching, in a baking dish. Drizzle or brush each meatball with a teaspoon or so of the tomato glaze you made earlier, and bake until cooked through, about 20 minutes. (An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of a cooked meatball will register 160 to 165 degrees). Serve with additional glaze on a bed of brown butter mashed potatoes.

Serves 6






❧ Brown Butter Mashed Potatoes:

◦ 2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes
◦ 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and browned
◦ 1 cup buttermilk
◦ 1 to 2 teaspoons table salt
◦ Freshly ground black pepper

Place the potatoes in a medium saucepan, and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil over high heat, and once it's boiling, reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook for 20 to 30 minutes, depending on your potato size; the potatoes are ready when a paring knife or cake tester can be inserted into the center with little resistance. Drain the potatoes, and wipe the pot dry.

Peel the potatoes�I find that holding one in a pot-holdered hand and using a paring knife with the other is easiest. Repeat with remaining potatoes until they are completely peeled. Run the potatoes through a food mill or potato ricer, then return the mashed potatoes to your emptied saucepan. Add browned butter, buttermilk, salt, and black pepper to taste.

Do your best not to eat it all before guests arrive.