Pot-Roast Meatloaf

This recipe is from Jamie Oliver's 'Ministry of Food' which I bought from a charity shop in England. I'd had a flick through it before in a book shop and didn't find it very interesting, but now I own it I realize it's quite a good recipe book.

I've made meatloaf before, in a loaf tin, with not much success, but this one turned out really well. It was very tasty, didn't fall apart when sliced, and had an interesting sauce to go with it. It's a good way to feed a few people with 500g of minced beef.

Heat oven to highest setting. Fry the onion gently for several minutes in oil, stirring frequently, with salt and pepper, cumin and coriander. Put in a large bowl, add cracker crumbs, oregano, Dijon mustard, minced beef and an egg. Mix thoroughly with your hands and form into a loaf shape. Rub with a little oil, and put in a casserole pan or baking dish with a lid (I used my Scanpan casserole).

The uncooked meatloaf ready for the oven

Put meatloaf in oven and immediately turn oven down to 200 C, and cook for 30 mins.

The cooked meatloaf

Meanwhile, in a large pan gently cook onion, garlic, chilli, salt, pepper, smoked paprika, in a little oil, stirring occasionally. Add Worcestershire sauce, chickpeas, tomatoes and balsamic vinegar. Bring to boil, simmer for 10 mins. Test and add more seasoning if required (I added a tsp of sugar).

Spoon sauce around the meatloaf and sprinkle over pancetta or sliced bacon and a few rosemary leaves. Return to oven for 10-15 mins.

The meatloaf and sauce ready for serving. One of those tasty, but not very photogenic meals.

Ingredients:
for meatloaf:
1 med onion, finely chopped
1 level tsp cumin (I didn't use this)
1 heaped tsp ground coriander
12 Jacobs cream crackers (or SAOs if you're in Aus), finely crushed
2 tsp dried oregano
2 heaped tsp Dijon mustard
500 g minced beef - good quality
1 large egg
for sauce:
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1/2 - 1 fresh red chilli (or a dash of chilli powder)
1 tsp smoked paprika
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
400 g tin chickpeas, drained
800 g tinned chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tsp fresh rosemary leaves
12 slices pancetta or a few slices of smoked bacon cut into strips