Goat Cheese & Sun-Dried Tomato Meatloaf

When temperatures are chilly and the sun seems to show itself for just a few hours a day, the winter starts to take its toll on me.  Its during these long winter months that I really begin to crave comfort foods.  One of my all time favorite cold weather comfort dishes is meatloaf.  It's one of the first things I taught myself how to cook after I got married.  It just seemed like a "newlywed" kind of thing to cook to impress my hungry husband.  I've read a lot of recipes and tried dozens of different versions over the years before settling on one we like the best.  I switch up the ingredients a bit from the standard run of the mill meatloaf because I find that regular ground beef is just too greasy and heavy for our taste. Instead I opt for a combination of ground turkey and ground veal combined with sun-dried tomatoes and goat cheese that makes for a meatloaf that is luxurious and tender.  I hope you will give it a try and let me know what you think!

Dice up the bread into small pieces.  

To keep the meatloaf super moist and flavorful, the first step is to cube up some crusty bread and soak it in some milk or cream.  You will want to season the bread mixture with a good amount of fresh cracked black pepper and kosher salt.  As you have heard me say many times before, you want to season every layer while you assemble the meatloaf to ensure it turns out super flavorful.  Use a bowl for soaking the bread that is large enough to fit all the remaining ingredients in the recipe.  That way you won't have a lot of dishes to wash and assembly goes quickly.

While the bread soaks in all that goodness, you can get the other ingredients ready to go.  Mince the garlic, chop up the sun-dried tomatoes and parsley and dice the onion.  You'll want to keep the pieces pretty small so you don't end up with any large bites of the ingredients in the finished product and they can cook through completely.  Some people cook their onions before adding them to the mixture but I find that added step unnecessary. Besides, it will just dirty another pan - - and who wants that?

All the ingredients set out and
ready to get cooking

As you get ingredients cut up, go ahead and add them right to the bread mixture.  Everything else in the recipe, except the meats, gets added to the bowl at this point. Add in some more kosher salt and pepper to the mixture now to be sure it is well seasoned.  I use Herbs de Provence because it has so many great herbs combined together, but if you don't have that on hand (or don't want to buy it) you can use a mixture of dried thyme, basil, rosemary, fennel seeds and/or marjoram.  While variations of Herbs de Provence can be different, I like the ones that contain lavender as it adds a depth of flavor and a sweet floral aroma to dishes.  It is an ingredient that can be used with so many different recipes that I think it is worth giving it a shot if you have never used it before.

Minced garlic, chopped sun-dried
tomato and diced onion

You'll notice I didn't put an amount next to the goat cheese in the recipe because that ingredient is really up to personal taste.  My husband doesn't care for the goat cheese as much so I go lighter with it but if you like that flavor (I adore how well it works with the sun-dried tomatoes and veal!) go ahead and add it in higher quantities.  It adds a creamy texture and consistency that I really like.  It is important that you taste the goat cheese you are using though so you know how salty it is because that will affect how much additional salt you should add.

All the ingredients mixed
together (before the meat)

At this point you want to get everything really well mixed before you add in the meat.  The less you have to handle the ground meat, the better texture the final product will have.  Add the veal and ground turkey to the bowl and mix it gently until just combined.  The only tools to use for this step are the best ones in the kitchen - your hands!  It is a messy job but it is the best way to get the meat combined without over-mixing.  In my opinion, nothing is worse than a super dense meatloaf, regardless of how good the flavor is.  Think hockey puck...   Over-mixing the meat is one of the most frequent mistakes people make when making meatloaf, meatballs, burgers, etc - - basically anything with ground meat that you mix together before cooking.  The key is to just get the ingredients incorporated and then stop fussing with it!

The mixture after the meat is
added, ready to become meatloaves!

Using a large sheet tray covered in foil, place 1/3 of the meat mixture on the pan and gently shape it into a small loaf.  Make sure it is about the same size all the way from one end to the other so it cooks evenly.  Repeat this step, creating a 2nd and 3rd loaf.  Evenly space them on the pan making sure there is room between each of them.

I like making these smaller meatloaves rather than making one large one for a couple of reasons.  First, it takes a lot less time to cook the smaller ones so you go from prepping to eating in about 30 minutes.  That is a huge timesaver when you want to make this meal during the week.  Second, and perhaps more importantly, my favorite part is the crispy, crunchy crust that forms on the outer layer of the meatloaf.  By cooking three small ones, you ensure that almost every bite has a little bit of that crispy goodness.  :)

Shaped meatloaves on the sheet pan, ready for the oven!

Drizzle a little bit of olive oil on top of the meatloaves before you put them in the oven.  That will help give you that yummy crust and help it to brown in the oven.  For this batch, I also sprinkled some of my Maldon Sea Salt over the top of each loaf before I put it in the oven.  Just as I had hoped, it added an even tastier layer of salty, crispy goodness to the final product.  (I'm am becoming seriously addicted to this finishing salt!)

Meatloaf right out of the oven

Cook the meatloaf at 400 degrees until a meat thermometer reads 155-160 degrees.  (Since you are using ground turkey you want to make sure it is cooked all the way through.)  For mine, that took about 30 minutes but it will depend on how you shape your meatloaf, how well your oven is calibrated, etc.  Never trust a meatloaf recipe that gives you a specific time.   Using a thermometer takes all the guess work out of it and ensures a perfect doneness every time.

Take that cabin fever!

Otis was particularly helpful
while I made the meatloaf.  

Plated meatloaf with
roasted veggies! Yummy!

Roasted Cauliflower and Carrots
make a perfect side for the meatloaf

[Note: I also like using this higher temperature to cook the meatloaf because besides helping speed up the overall cooking time, it means I can roast vegetables while the meatloaf is cooking.  For this particular dinner, I chopped up some carrots and cauliflower and added them to a sheet pan with olive oil, salt and pepper.  They were the perfect compliment to the meatloaf and got done cooking in the same amount of time. Perfection!]



Goat Cheese & Sun-Dried Tomato Meatloaf
Ingredients:
2 dinner rolls or small pieces of crusty bread
2/3 of a pint of cream (or whole milk)
2 Tbs Parsley, finely chopped
Sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbs Tomato Paste
1 1/2 Tbs Worcestershire  
1 Tbs Herbs de Provence
1/2 a small Onion, small dice
2 Eggs
Crumbled goat cheese
Kosher Salt and Pepper
1 lb. ground veal
1 lb. ground turkey