My husband and his brother often reminisce about the meatloaf their grandmother made back in the '50s. It was shaped around a hard-boiled egg so that each slice had a disc of the egg in its center and leftovers sliced well for making sandwiches. They say she used rice in it but don't know whether it was cooked or not. Can you or your wonderful network suggest a recipe that would approximate this childhood memory? -- Judith Shelton, Duluth
The goddess’s disciples came up empty-handed on recipes, but the gastronomic guru was so intrigued she let her fingers do the walking on the great World Wide Web and quickly found several rice-meatloaf variations. Instant rice bakes directly into the mixture, giving it body and subtle texture. The goddess vouches for the flavorful mixture, even with the unusual addition of rice.
She also found several recipes of meatloaf cooked with hard-boiled eggs. The goddess supposes the addition of the egg was used for its visual presentation and to economically stretch out the meal. One can easily adapt this recipe to embed a few hard-cooked eggs in the mixture if one so desires. Simply put half of the beef mixture in the pan. Add three peeled hard-boiled eggs and lightly pack the remaining mixture around them.
Rice-Meatloaf
Serves 4
Hands on: 20 minutes
Total time: 1 hour, 10 minutes
Don’t be concerned if the meatloaf mixture looks a little moister than usual. The extra liquid will be absorbed by the rice during cooking.
1 egg
1/2 cup uncooked instant or minute white or brown rice
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup nonfat or regular milk
1/4 cup dry breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon minced fresh or 1 teaspoon dried herbs of choice (such as rosemary, basil, chives, sage and/or tarragon)
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon salt or to taste
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 pound extra-lean ground beef
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly coat a loaf pan with nonstick spray.
In a large bowl, beat the egg. Add the uncooked rice, onion, bell pepper, garlic, ketchup, milk, breadcrumbs, herbs, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper and stir well to combine. Using your clean hands or a sturdy spatula, add ground beef and gently but thoroughly combine using caution not to pack the meat too much. Place in prepared loaf pan. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until meatloaf reaches an internal temperature of 160 degrees (do not overcook or it will be dry). Remove from oven and let the meatloaf rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Per serving: 400 calories (percent of calories from fat, 43), 33 grams protein, 22 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 19 grams fat (8 grams saturated), 147 milligrams cholesterol, 853 milligrams sodium.
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