Paleo Meatloaf
My kids are back home with me tonight after being with their mama for a week or so, and I wanted to welcome them home with some good paleo comfort food. This is a healthy meatloaf with roasted carrots, and garlic mashed “fauxtatoes” made with cauliflower, parsnips and dill, one of my son’s favorite herb flavors.
What makes the meatloaf paleo? Well, I’m using some delicious, grass-fed, organic meat, namely wild Montana elk. Other good options would be grass-fed beef or bison. But hey, I’ve got elk! Also, most meatloafs use breadcrumbs as a filler and bulk-builder. I’m skipping the crumbs to keep this gluten-free, and adding extra egg and some almond flour for a binder. This is a hearty, Sunday-night meal that’s delicious, nutritious, and goes really well with the “fauxtatoes” and carrots.
Section one iis the meatloaf preparation. Click on the other two grey tabs below for recipes for the “fauxtatoes” and carrots:
Ingredients:
2 pounds of grass-fed, ground meat (elk, beef or bison)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 red onion, chopped fine
1 small bunch of Italian parsely, chopped
1 small can tomato paste
1 TBS balsamic vinegar
2 tsp. dried thyme
1 C. almond flour
Fresh cracked black pepper and kosher salt
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°
Chop and prepare your garlic, onion and parsley.
In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients, using your hands to mix well, and work the herbs, flour and egg into the meat.
Pack the mixture evenly into a 9 x 5 loaf pan.
Place the loaf into the oven and cook for 50 to 60 minutes, until the meat is well-cooked, and not pink in the middle.
Remove from the oven, and give it about ten minutes to cool and finish cooking.
Cut the loaf into serving slices, and plate with your carrots and fauxtatoes.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs. carrots
1 TBS ghee
1 TBS coconut oil
Fresh cracked black pepper and kosher salt
1 tsp. chile powder
Directions:
Preheat oven to 425°
Peel and trim your carrots to nice, bite-sized pieces
Fill a pot with water and insert a steamer basket . Bring the water to a boil, and add the carrots. Steam for about 6 minutes, just enough to soften them slightly. We’re going to do most of the cooking in the oven.
Remove the carrots from the steamer, and in a large bowl, toss them with the ghee and oil, and season liberally with the salt, pepper and chile powder. Toss to coat.
Lay the carrots in a single layer on a foil-lined sheet tray.
Place in the oven and cook for about 45 minutes, until slightly browned and tender.
Ingredients:
1 small to medium-sized head of cauliflower
3-4 parsnips
5 garlic cloves (or more if you love garlic), smashed
2 TBS C. fresh dill, chopped fine
3 TBS. ghee
Kosher or sea salt, and pepper.
Directions:
Prepare a steamer basket and pot with water. Bring water to a boil. (You can also use an appliance steamer if you prefer)
Chop the cauliflower into roughly 1″ chunks, and add them to your steamer
Peel and slice the parsnips into roughly 1/2″ chunks.
Add the parsnips and the garlic cloves to the steamer.
Liberally salt the cauliflower and parsnips, then place a lid on your steamer and steam for 10 to 12 minutes.
While your veggies are steaming, mince your dill by removing the main stems and chopping fine.
Transfer steamed vegetables to a food processor, add the ghee, pepper and dill. Process/pulse until your mixture has the smooth consistency of mashed potatoes.
(Sorry, I was getting hungry and forgot to photograph this step!)
Season to taste with more salt or butter if you prefer, and serve immediately.
