26 February 2012

Chicken Parmesan Meatloaf

Another recipe that appears repeatedly on www.pinterest.com is for chicken parmesan (or chicken parmigiana) which is essentially a chicken breast, crumbed, baked (or fried) and covered with a tomato (marinara) sauce, and grated parmesan cheese, then grilled.  This was a dish my mum and I used to order a lot at one of our regular "haunts" when we lived in Malaysia.  Something we never made or ate at home.

Anyway, all the recipes I saw for the chicken breast version looked long and convoluted, with many steps.  However, I'm all for simple, quick and easy, so when I saw a meatloaf version of chicken parmigiana, I was sold on the idea.  All that remained was to find somewhere that sold (or would make me) some minced/ground chicken.  Luckily there's still an old fashioned butchery in a neighbouring town who were more than happy to help me in my quest; heck, they even made the mince fresh especially for me!  :)  No such quality service like that in your supermarket butcher section, that's for sure! 



Meatloaf tends to have a bad reputation in general and I'm not sure why.  It's quite yummy, in all its' forms really.  Served with boiled potatoes and steamed greens, it's a great meal.  Or in winter, with mashed potato and gravy for some good comfort food.  I have even seen a recipe for meatloaf cupcakes?!  SAY WHAAAAAAT.  I'm going to try this one day.  Perfect little savoury bites.  Omigoodness.

INGREDIENTS
500g chicken mince
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 egg
1 small onion, finely diced
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup pasta sauce (tomato/marinara - homemade or store bought)
1/2 cup cheese (for the top... I just used Edam)

METHOD
  •  Preheat the oven to 180 deg C
  • Line meatloaf tin with baking paper
  • Combine the ground chicken, egg, breadcrumbs, thyme, oregano, basil, garlic, onion, salt, pepper and Parmesan cheese in a large bowl
  • Mix well, but try not to over-handle it (it can get tough)
  • Put the mixture in the meatloaf tin
  • Top with pasta sauce
  • Bake, uncovered, for 40-45 minutes
  • Take out and sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup cheese on top
  • Bake again until cheese is golden and melted
  • Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing and serving

This recipe has ended up in my "favourite recipes" book already, and I've only made it once!  While I have to go out of my way to get the chicken mince, and also only use 1/2 a cup of pasta sauce (leaving me with the remainder of the jar to find a use for), I fully don't mind - it's 100% worth it!!  This meatloaf was amazing.  The tomato sauce and cheesy topping works beautifully with the herbs in the meat, and arghhhh I just cannot explain how delicious it was! 

Just go and make it for yourself!!  Om nom nom...!


Recipe Inspiration: http://joelens.blogspot.co.nz/2010/06/chicken-parmesan-meatloaf.html

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