Shelly's Recipe

MEATLOAF AND TOMATO RELISH

Category: Meatloaf

Tomato Relish:
2 tbsp Olive Oil
1 medium onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 bay leaves
2 red bell peppers, cored, seeded, and finely diced
2 tomatoes, halved, seeded, and finely diced
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1 12-oz bottle ketchup
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper

Meatloaf:
3 slices white bread, crusts removed, torn into chunks
1/4 cup whole milk
1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1 lb ground pork
2 eggs
Leaves from 2 fresh thyme sprigs
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 to 4 bacon slices

Preheat the oven to 350. Saute the onion, garlic and bay leaves in olive oil for a few minutes Add the red peppers and cook them for a couple of minutes to soften. Add the tomatoes Stir in the parsley, ketchup, and Worcestershire; season with salt and pepper. Simmer the relish for 5 minutes. Remove it from the heat; you should have about 4 cups of relish.

Place the torn white bread in a bowl and add the milk to just barely cover, swish the bread around in the milk and let it sit while you get the rest of the ingredients for the meat loaf together.

In a large mixing bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups of the tomato relish, the eggs, and thyme, salt and pepper to taste. Squeeze the excess milk from the bread and add the soaked bread, ground beef and pork to the bowl. Mix with your hands only until all ingredients are incorporated. To test, fry a small hamburger patty of the meatloaf until cooked; the patty should hold together but still have a soft consistency. Taste the patty for seasoning.

Lightly oil a cookie sheet. Transfer the meat mixture to the center of the cookie sheet and form into a log about 9 inches long and about 4 inches wide. Coat the top of the meatloaf with another 1/2 cup of the tomato relish. Lay the bacon across the top lengthwise.

Bake the meatloaf until a thermometer inserted in the center reads 160 degrees, approximately 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Rotate the meat loaf while it's baking every now and then to insure that the bacon browns evenly. Remove the meatloaf from the oven and let it cool a bit before slicing. Serve with the remaining tomato relish on the side.