Prep Time: 10-15 mins      Cook Time: +1 hour      Serves: 6

Ingredients

4 rashers bacon, chopped, fried until crispy

1 large onion, finely chopped

1 tsp minced garlic

50g butter

500g mushrooms, peeled, finely chopped

2 carrots, grated

2 sticks celery, finely chopped

1 zucchini, grated

500g beef mince

500g pork mince

3/4 cup breadcrumbs (fresh or dried)

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

1/2 tsp fennel seeds, crushed

2 tsp mixed Italian herbs

2 eggs

2 tablespoons tomato paste

3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

40g parmesan cheese, grated (optional, see note)

Mashed potatoes and steamed greens, to serve

Smoky BBQ Glaze

1 1/2 cups BBQ sauce

2 tablespoons brown sugar

4 tablespoons maple syrup

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

Mushroom Gravy

30g butter

1 onion, finely chopped

1 sprig rosemary

1 tsp minced garlic

500g mushrooms, peeled, finely chopped

1 cup red wine

Flour or instant gravy powder (Gravox)

Beef stock (see recipe)

1 lemon, juiced

Method

Preheat oven to 180C. Fry onions and garlic with oil and butter until softened and slightly browned. Add mushrooms and cook with the onions until softened. Add carrots, celery, zucchini and bacon pieces and cook until slightly softened. Set aside when done and leave to cool slightly.

Place the minces into a large bowl and combine with vegetable mixture and remaining meatloaf ingredients, including salt and pepper. You will need to use your hands to combine the ingredients.

Place meat mixture into a loaf tin lined with baking paper. Combine all glaze ingredients in a small bowl and set aside. Bake meatloaf for around 1 hour, until browned and cooked all the way through, glazing every 30 mins.

To make the mushroom gravy, fry onions, garlic and rosemary in oil and butter until they have softened and slightly browned. When the onions are soft, add the mushrooms and cook until they have softened. When mushrooms have softened, remove rosemary sprig, add red wine and reduce until no liquid remains. Gradually add flour or instant gravy powder and beef stock (see note). When you think you have added enough flour and stock, bring the gravy to a boil. When you think the gravy is thick enough, remove from heat and stir in lemon juice.

Notes

This meatloaf is best served with mashed potatoes and steamed greens, along with the gravy.

The gravy can be as thick or as thin as you would like. For a thinner gravy, add less flour or gravy powder and more stock. For a nice thick gravy, add the right amount of both ingredients. The mushrooms for the gravy can be sliced instead of finely chopped.

A few drops of tabasco or chipotle sauce can be added to the BBQ glaze for a little bit of heat.

Other vegetables such as peas and corn can be added to the meat mixture. You can substitute the parmesan for grated cheddar cheese (make sure it has been grated yourself, do not use the pre-grated cheese in the packet)

Best for…

Winter nights, dinner parties, camping, weekends