Meatloaf baked in grape leaves

This My Greek Table recipe for meatloaf is possibly unlike anything you’ve ever experienced as meatloaf. Meatloaf is something you either love or hate. But when done well, it was and still is one of the great recipes of the Greek kitchen, reminiscent of another era, when family lunches on Sunday lasted for hours, orchestrated by heroic Greek grandmothers and mothers! I miss those days, so recreated this nostalgic, unusual Greek meatloaf recipe anew!

Meatloaf baked in grape leaves. Credit: My Greek Table.

• serves

  8

• prep

  40 minutes

• cook

  1:20 hour

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 55 g (2 oz) grape leaves (vine leaves)
• ¼ cup extra-virgin Greek olive oil
• 1 carrot, peeled
• 1 medium zucchini, trimmed
• 1 medium red onion, minced
• 1 red capsicum (sweet red pepper), seeded and minced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• Sea salt
• 250 g (9 oz) beef mince (ground beef)
• 250 g (9 oz) lamb mince (ground lamb)
• 125 g (4½ oz) stale country bread, crusts removed
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 scant tsp dried oregano
• 1 cup chopped canned tomatoes or 2 firm, ripe tomatoes, grated
• 1 medium egg
• ½ cup white wine

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C /350°F. Lightly oil a large baking pan (big enough to hold a 15 cm x 32.5 cm / 6 in x 13 in loaf).
2. Bring a large pot of unsalted water to a rolling boil. Remove and drain the grape leaves from the brine. If using fresh, rinse and drain in a colander. Blanch either fresh or brined grape leaves for 3 to 4 minutes, until softened. Remove and drain in a colander, rinsing under cold water immediately.
3. Grate carrot and zucchini and leave on the side.
4. In a large sauté pan or deep skillet, heat the olive oil over medium flame and cook the
5. carrot, zucchini, onion and capsicum for about 5 minutes, until soft. Season with salt, add garlic, and cook for about 8 minutes. Remove from heat and cool slightly.
6. In a stainless steel mixing bowl, combine the meat. Dampen the bread under cold running water, squeeze out all the liquid, and crumble into the bowl with meat. Add the cooked vegetables, tomatoes, salt, pepper and oregano and knead well. Add the egg, knead well and shape into a loaf.
7. Place 6 grape leaves vein side up on baking (parchment) paper, place the meatloaf on top and wrap the bottom half of the meatloaf. Spread as many grape leaves as needed to cover the top and sides, pressing them together over and around the meat so that they adhere. Use the baking paper to move the loaf to the baking pan. Drizzle some olive oil on top and drizzle the white wine around the loaf.
8. Bake at 170°C / 350°F for 1 hour or until the meat is cooked and the grape leaves tender. Keep covered for half an hour and then leave uncovered for the remaining half an hour.
9. Remove, and cool slightly. Use a serrated knife to slice the meatloaf into serving portions.
   

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.