The Carnivore requested meatloaf tonight. Not my fav but I was able to use some of our Italian ground venison and add some chopped veggies, top with tomato sauce instead of gravy and it was tasty! I’m not sure how many people I thought I was cooking dinner for, there will be leftovers for the carnivore all week (or at least for tomorrow)!
Italian Venison Meatloaf
Ingredients
- 3 lbs Italian venison bulk sausage
- 1 onion
- 2-3 celery ribs
- 1 bell pepper
- 6 cloves garlic
- Olive oil
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup breadcrumbs (I wanted to use polenta but I didn’t have that. Or breadcrumbs. So I ended up using masa harina which gave it a corny flavor…the lime was a little weird)
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
- 2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
- 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning (basil, oregano, thyme)
- 1 can diced tomatoes (14.5 oz)
- Pepperoncino spicy Italian sauce (Trader Joe’s has an Italian Bomba hot pepper sauce)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Additional fresh basil and parm to top
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Chop veggies in food processor.
- Heat oil in pan and sauté chopped veggies.
- Mix eggs with herbs.
- Remove 3/4 of the veggies from the pan to cool.
- In a large bowl mix meat, veggies, egg, breadcrumbs, salt and pepper. Use your hands and don’t overmix.
- Put meat mix in 2 loaf pans or square pan, so meat is about 2 inches tall.
- Add Italian seasoning to remaining veggies, then can of tomatoes and however much spicy pepperoncino sauce you want (1-2 tsp, this stuff is SPICY).
- Simmer for a couple minutes, then put the sauce in the food processor and blend.
- Pour blended sauce over the meatloaf.
- Bake, covered, for 50-60 minutes.
- Top with parmesan and basil before serving.
Roasted Veggies
Ingredients
- Mixed potatoes (fingerling, purple, sweet)
- Carrots
- Onion
- Garlic
- Celery
- Olive oil
- Spice blend of choice (I used Serious Foodie’s west African blend that had salt, sugar, lemon zest, pepper, grains of paradise, garlic and star anise)
Chop larger veggies into chunks, toss with olive oil and spices, roast vegetables with the meatloaf for about 45 minutes at 400 (or 350 to cook them with the meatloaf, and then crank them both up to 400 the last 10-15 minutes.
NicStan Cooks 