Lebanese-Style Meat Loaf

Here’s a recipe for the famous meatloaf with a Lebanese twist! Eva's mother used to cook this dish and Eva loved it so much she cooked it for her family too. I remember as a kid loving this dish (I still do today). We eat this meatloaf on top of rice (Riz Bil Sh-arieh) and with pita bread. A lot of Lebanese dishes traditionally mix rice with stews or broths (like Fasolia and Lubieh Bil Lahme) and this dish is one of them. All of the veggies used are optional, but we love the flavor they all add to the loaf! This dish takes over an hour to cook, so be sure to try this recipe when you have extra time.

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds ground beef
• 2 small onions (1 finely diced, and 1 cut into fours) 
• 2 or 3 carrot sticks (peeled and cut into chunks)
• 3 small potatoes peeled and cut into chunks (if peeled in advance, soak them in cold water so they don’t brown)
• 1 eight oz. can of tomato sauce or 2 teaspoons of tomato paste
• Parsley (1 tablespoon dried or 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley) 
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/3 cup bread crumbs
• 1 cup peas (we used frozen peas)

Serves 4-6

1. In a mixing bowl add meat, diced onion, salt, pepper, parsley, bread crumbs and mix
2. Preheat oven to 475 and grease a baking sheet
3. Form mixture into a loaf. It can be any size you want, just make sure it’s firm and all together 

4. Put in oven for 35 minutes
5. After 35 minutes, remove your loaf from the baking pan and add it to casserole dish (larger dish will allow you to have room for your veggies and juice - Eva used a 9.5 x 13.5 dish) 
6. In your casserole dish, add 4 cups of water, onions, carrots, peas, and potatoes, another teaspoon of salt and place the casserole dish back into the oven for another 45 minutes or until potatoes and carrots are tender to the fork.

7. Start Riz Bil Sh'arieh or other rice of choice (that is, if you want rice!)
8. Add sauce after 45 minutes, and place it back in the oven for 10 more minutes

Enjoy!