I started cooking when I was 15. It was not out of passion or even interest. Rather, it was my sister’s survival strategy for getting rid of the women our father hired to watch over us and our home after our mother died. It had been a four-year, revolutionary experience. We were tired of it, and my sister had an exit plan. She determined that since all these women did was prepare dinner — or that’s what it looked like to us — I could take over that task, among others, when I turned 16. All I needed was a car. I was doubtful that our father would go for it. My sister turned out to be a stellar trial lawyer, and this could probably be counted as her first win.
Our father did the food shopping until I turned 16, got my driver’s license and a Chevy Nova, white on the outside with a red interior. And then I took over. Fast forward to marriage and motherhood, but now in a kosher kitchen. One day, feeling nostalgic for the foods my grandmother used to make for me, I scanned my cookbooks for a recipe for meatloaf. The one I settled on came from The New York Times cookbook (circa 1961) and was entitled Herbed Meatloaf. It called for a pound of ground beef, 1/2 pound of ground veal and a 1/2 pound of ground pork as well as bacon slices to cover the top. Obviously, this was a no-go. Here is how I adapted the recipe, including the variations I have added over the years.
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 pound ground veal
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1/2 cup breads crumbs or panko bread crumbs — both work
- 1/2 cup chopped parsley *
- 1/4 cup chopped chives *
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 1 large or 2 medium carrots, chopped
- 1 to 1 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
- Garlic powder to taste
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Chop, not purée, pepper and carrots in a food processor. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl until blended. Do not overwork.
Shape gently to fit a glass loaf pan.
Prick surface with flat side of the tines of a fork. (My grandmother did this to make it look pretty. You don’t have to.) Make three or four slits across the top of the meatloaf and insert pieces of sun-dried tomatoes in oil. Use fork to close the slits. And/or, moisten panko bread crumbs with a generous amount of olive oil and scatter on top. (Both optional.)
Bake for approximately one hour.
* When I need fresh herbs for a recipe, I wash the entire bunch and spin/air dry to remove as much moisture as possible. Then I chop in a food processor and freeze. So I almost always have herbs on hand for recipes such as this. They are not a substitute for fresh.
Eileen Sklaroff
