Meatloaf

Ingredients

0 of 13 out on the counter

• 1 lb 85% lean ground beef
• 2 cups cooked brown lentils, unsalted
• 1 medium onion, peeled and grated
• 2 large eggs
• ½ cup whole milk
• ¾ cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 3 tbsp no-salt-added tomato paste
• 2 tbsp water, for the glaze
• 1 tbsp yellow mustard

All set! Everything is out. Time to bake.

Method

1. 1Heat the oven to 350 °F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil.
2. 2Mix the eggs, milk, oats, onion, garlic, salt, pepper and thyme in a big bowl. Let it sit 5 minutes so the oats soak up the milk. Mash the lentils lightly with a fork, so about half are broken.
3. 3Add the beef and lentils and mix with your hands until it just holds together. Overmixing makes a tight, dry loaf.
4. 4Shape it on the sheet into a loaf about 9 inches long and 4 inches wide. Bake 35 minutes.
5. 5While it bakes, stir the tomato paste, water and mustard together until smooth for the glaze. Set aside a quarter of it for the table.
6. 6Spread the rest of the glaze over the loaf and bake 25 to 30 minutes more. It is done when the glaze is dark and a thermometer in the middle reads 160 °F. Ground meat must reach 160 °F, so check the middle, not the end.
7. 7Rest 10 minutes, then cut into 8 slices. Pass the glaze you set aside.
8. 8Leftovers: cool and refrigerate within 2 hours. To freeze, wrap slices in pairs, dated; thaw overnight in the fridge. Reheat slices to 165 °F.