Near Eastern Meatloaf (by way of Lancaster County)

Sunday, March 30, 2008

Part 2 of my first order with the Meadow Run Farms buying club (see Tortilla Espanola for Part 1; see link at left under “meat” for information on the buying club) was ground beef and ground lamb for my favorite meatloaf. In fact, I joined the club practically on the basis of its having ground lamb because it can be hard to find, local or otherwise, in grocery stores.

The ground meat is packaged in flat pouches that make defrosting much faster than a brick-like package. I don’t know if that was intentional, but it works for me. What you’re looking at is a pound each of beef and lamb.
What makes this meatloaf “near eastern” is the kefte-like spice and other additions. I don’t measure when I make this, so amounts are approximate:
1/3C chopped parsley
1 small onion, minced (in this case it was 1/3 of a bermuda onion from Rineer Family Farms)
2 carrots, grated (on the big side of a box grater)
2T pomegranate molasses
1T Syrian kefte spice (a mixture that I buy at Kalustyan’s in NYC)
1/4C dried currants or zereshk (barberries, a Persian food that is slightly sour)
1t salt
(A handful of pinenuts is a nice addition, too.)
To this, you work the meats in with your hands. (If you want to check the seasoning before you bake the loaf, take a little and fry it in a pan for an approximation.)

Bake at 350 for about 1 hour 15 minutes. This meat yielded a nice juicey loaf (the carrots help with this, too) with a wonderful lamb flavor. Could you go 100% lamb? Absolutely. Enjoy!