The Man and his meatloaf

There is nothing sexy, gourmet, or remotely interesting to me about making meatloaf but every now and again I have to oblige.  My husband is a big M & P guy (Meat and Potatoes), even though he has been surrounded by quality food his entire life. He was born in Oakland (San Francisco Bay Area),  and spent his childhood years in a bucolic little beach town by the Atlantic Ocean (The Real Jersey Shore). But it was during those teen years in the midwest (Detroit) where he seemed to develop his palate.

Even though he tolerates me and my vegetable centric meals especially since those meals are almost always for a recipe I'm testing (wink, wink); Like clockwork, when he first notices the lack of animal product on the dining table the next thing out of his mouth is "Where's the meat?".  Because he refuses to be lectured about the realities of high cholesteral, colon cancer, and all of those other health related issues that can occur from a meat heavy diet; Every now and then I have to serve up a meal that's a little heavy and nothing screams M&P to me more than meatloaf.  Now before you think I'm a total pushover, I still try and lighten it up a bit by using ground turkey instead of beef and this particular recipe contains no egg or breadcrumbs, just a few spices, a little ricotta cheese, and all meat.  Just the way Mr. Jones likes it.

Turkey Ricotta Meatloaf

The worchestershire sauce gives this version the signature "meaty" flavor and the addition of ricotta cheese keeps it moist.  When using good quality ground turkey I find there is no need for any binder (eggs or breadcrumbs to hold the mixture together).

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 shallots, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 pounds ground turkey
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper



Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Add all of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and using your bare hands mix thoroughly.  Transfer mixture to a 9 x 13 casserole dish (or slightly smaller) and form into a loaf shape.  Bake for 50-60 minutes.  Serve with mashed potatoes, fries, a big green salad, or my case panko-crusted onion rings.

*Thanks to the folks at Alexia Foods for providing us with samples of their super crunchy and super addictive Panko breaded onion rings.