pesto meat loaf recipe

bring on fall and all the yummy foods of the colder months! i have been trying to conjure fall for awhile, with chili, enchiladas, bean soups, bread making, etc.

my most recent venture was into the wide world of meatloaf.


pesto meat loaf

2 pounds lean ground pork, s&p to taste, if desired
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic
1 cup fine bread crumbs
1/3 cup toasted pine nuts
1 cup finely chopped, loosely packed fresh basil
1/2 cup finely chopped, loosely packed parsley
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1 egg, lightly beaten
fresh tomato sauce (recipe below)

1. preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. put the pork in a mixing bowl. add salt and pepper.
3. heat the oil in a small skillet. add the garlic and cook, stirring, until it is wilted. add to the pork.
4. add the bread crumbs, pine nuts, basil, parsley, parmesan cheese and egg. blend well.
5. put the mixture into a standard six-cup loaf pan. pack it down and smooth over the top. place in the oven and bake about one hour or until the internal temperature registers 165 degrees. remove from the oven and let the meat loaf stand about 15 minutes before slicing and serving with the tomato sauce.

yield: six to eight servings.


fresh tomato sauce

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped onions
1 teaspoon finely minced garlic
2 cups peeled, chopped fresh tomatoes
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
s&p to taste, if desired
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

1. heat the oil in a saucepan and add the onions and garlic. cook, stirring, until they are wilted.
2. add the tomatoes, bay leaf, thyme, salt and pepper and bring to the boil. cover and simmer about 10 minutes. stir in the butter and basil.

yield: about 1 1/2 cups

this recipe was given to me by a friend that knows how much i love food (thanks winnie!). she had clipped it from a newspaper years ago. i have lost my copy twice now, so i figured i should post it here incase my page gets lost again.

this was my first meat loaf. holy crap, it was the bomb! sadly, i won't be making this again 'til next summer or early fall, as you have to have a ton of basil ... either from the farmer's market or someone's garden. see that big bunch above? that was from winnie's garden. that was enough basil to make a dozen loafs or an amazing batch of pesto. sadly, i did not have the energy to make pesto. for some reason, i always start this cooking thing too late at night.