Moroccan Meatloaf

This might sound a little weird if you know me (because all-American dishes like meatloaf and casserole aren't really my thing), but I have been craving meatloaf for awhile now.  I am going to blame it on the Grandpa Jack sandwich I had in Maine back in October (which was absolutely delicious) and inspired me to pick up some Moroccan meatloaf at a gourmet market near the apartment a few weeks later.  That Moroccan meatloaf was also delicious and it inspired me to plan a Moroccan-inspired meatloaf of my own.  Since this is probably only the 5th or 6th time in my life that I have ever eaten meatloaf (and only my second attempt at making it - my first attempt was a Turkey Meatloaf) I wasn't really sure what went in it.  But I knew that I wanted to use carrots, onion, garlic, harissa, tomato paste and herbs.  I couldn't decide what meat to use but ended up just picking up a pack of meatloaf mix (ground veal, ground pork and ground beef) at Fairway and going with that.  Then Alex and I did a little research to determine exactly what goes in a typical meatloaf and discovered that we weren't far off the mark.  Alex really wanted a glaze on top of the meatloaf and I wasn't sold on the whole ketchup glaze, but agreed to it because I wasn't sure if the meatloaf would be sad and lacking without it.  But I added some harissa and some spices to the ketchup glaze to mix it up a little.  In the end, I'm glad we went with the glaze because I think it really added a nice sweetness without being cloying, which was my biggest fear.  And all of the spices and things we added really gave the meatloaf a nice flavor.  If you think you have the patience, I would totally make this the day before you want to eat it because it was even better the next day.  When I had it a few days later the flavors had really melded and it would have made an amazing meatloaf sandwich.  I wish that the meatloaf itself had been just a little more moist - we might need to soak the bread crumbs in milk or something first next time (like you do with meatballs) to provide a little extra moisture.  Or maybe we will replace the tomato paste in the meatloaf with ketchup...  I had hoped that the combination of the evoo, harissa and tomato paste would provide a little more moisture than it actually did.  But, with a little tweaking I think this recipe could be really fabulous.  I don't know if it can compete with the Grandpa Jack, but I think we are on to something here.

Recipe after the jump!

Quasi-Moroccan Turnip Greens and Moroccan Meatloaf

Sadly, this week was the second to last week of our CSA.  And as daunting as the CSA is at times (what in the world am I supposed to do with dandelion greens, a gigantic rutabega, and mystery squash?!), I have thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience - from Googling said mystery squash, to cooking up various vegetable-driven experiments (some successful, some not so much).  So this Tuesday we ended up with a big bunch of turnip greens and two lonely turnips.  So I immediately started with Epicurious and came across this recipe for Leon O'Neals Turnip Greens.  We were already making a vaguely Moroccan meatloaf, so I figured why not take some inspiration from Leon O'Neal (whomever he is) and blend it with our Moroccan theme and go from there.  So I threw in a little of this, a little of that, and voila - our turnip and turnip greens concoction was done!  And man, it was good - spicy, and shockingly flavorful, I could have eaten an entire plate of the turnips and left behind the meatloaf (not that it wasn't good, but it just couldn't compete and I think that was partially due to the lack of a sauce on top).  Actually, Alex and I polished off all of the turnips and left some of the meatloaf behind, which is mildly shocking.  But the turnips were just so good.  And can I just say that I never thought those words would come out of my mouth?

Recipes after the jump!

Turkey Meatloaf

Growing up with an Asian mother, I managed to miss out on most of the "American classics."  I never tried homemade lasagna, real mashed potatoes (the only kind we ate in my family came from a box of dehydrated potato flakes that you cooked in the microwave), meatloaf, chicken pot pie, or any of the other things my friends ate regularly.  Not all of this was my mother's fault - I had a very picky sibling, and a moderately picky father as well.  My father was actually the reason we never had meatloaf.  Instead, we ate stir fry, Korean bulgogi, Vietnamese summer rolls, fried rice, homemade wonton soup, and pho ga (Vietnamese chicken noodle soup).


It wasn't until I moved to New York that I started trying to make up for lost time so to speak, and try out some of those American classics that I had missed out on while growing up.  However, I usually end up giving them something of a twist to suit my palate.  For instance, this turkey meatloaf was my attempt to use up a lot of produce in my fridge (a New Year's resolution of sorts), as well as to avoid the normal pitfalls of both turkey and meatloaf.  Turkey is often so dry because it is so lean.  And it also has a tendency to be flavorless.  I wanted something moist and full of flavor.  Meatloaf itself often seems very clunky to me.  I wanted something fresher - full of vegetables and fresh herbs.


Considering I have never made a turkey meatloaf in my life, I was very pleased with the results of this one.  My one complaint being that I wish it had more of a crust to it.  Maybe next time I will put it under the broiler for a minute or two to get it nice and crusty.  Otherwise, it was incredibly moist, full of flavor, and went wonderfully with the cranberry ketchup.  Usually when I try to substitute turkey for beef in a recipe I end up missing the richness and moistness of the beef, but I didn't miss it here at all.  The turkey was fresh and lovely pared with the vegetables and tartness of the cranberry ketchup.  The picture doesn't do it justice, but then again meatloaf is never pretty.


I served the meatloaf with watercress that I simply sauteed in evoo with minced garlic, s&p.  Delicious.


Recipes after the jump!