Gourmet Done Family Style

Unique. Delicious. Comforting.

What a fun twist on your ordinary meatloaf. I have to say, what first attracted me to this recipe was not the meatloaf itself, but the red wine currant sauce drizzle over the top of it. If that doesn't scream fancy restaurant I don't know what does. But if sweet dark glazes are not to your liking, this turkey meatloaf stands well on it's own. There wasn't a person at gaming group last night who didn't express overwhelming satisfaction with the meal.

This recipe is super simple to assemble and makes ample proportions. The recipe even includes instructions for freezing half and baking again at a later date if 10 servings is too much all at once. I used a good quality free range ground turkey for the meat. If you cannot find sun-dried tomato sprinkles, just dice up some sun-dried tomato halves found in the dried fruit section of your grocery store. Do not use sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil or it will make your meatloaf too greasy. Also, be sure to use a meat thermometer to make sure that the ground turkey gets cooked all the way through. We enjoyed this with a nice green salad on the side and french baguette slices dipped in olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Sun-Dried Tomato Meat Loaf with Red Currant-Wine Sauce


Red currant jelly and wine make a quick, rich sauce that is a nice change from the typical ketchup topping. Serve with mashed potatoes. If you decide to freeze one of the meat loaves for later, make half the amount of red currant-wine sauce now and half when you bake the frozen meat loaf.


Meat loaf:
Cooking spray
3 (1-ounce) slices white bread
1 cup finely chopped onion
1 cup (4 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup thinly sliced fresh basil
1/3 cup sun-dried tomato sprinkles
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 1/2 pounds ground turkey breast
2 large eggs

Sauce:
1/2 cup red currant jelly
1/4 cup dry red wine
1 teaspoon all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 400°.

Coat 2 (8 x 4-inch) loaf pans with cooking spray; set aside.

To prepare meat loaves, place bread in food processor; pulse 10 times or until coarse crumbs form. Combine breadcrumbs, onion, and next 7 ingredients (onion through eggs). Divide meat mixture in half. Press each portion into prepared pans.

Bake at 400° for 55 minutes or until a meat thermometer registers 180°.

To prepare sauce, combine jelly, wine, and flour in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil; cook 5 minutes or until jelly melts.

To freeze unbaked meat loaf: Prepare through Step 3. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing to remove as much air as possible. Wrap with heavy-duty foil. Store in freezer for up to 2 months.

To prepare frozen unbaked meat loaf: Thaw completely in refrigerator (about 24 hours). Preheat oven to 400º. Remove foil; reserve foil. Remove plastic wrap; discard wrap. Cover meat loaf with reserved foil; bake at 400º for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 45 minutes or until a meat thermometer registers 180º. Prepare half of red currant-wine sauce; serve over meat loaf.

Yield: 10 servings, 5 per pan (serving size: 5 ounces meat loaf and about 1 tablespoon sauce)

CALORIES 271 (19% from fat); FAT 5.6g (sat 2.8g,mono 1.6g,poly 0.5g); PROTEIN 35.2g; CHOLESTEROL 122mg; CALCIUM 193mg; SODIUM 435mg; FIBER 0.8g; IRON 2.3mg; CARBOHYDRATE 18.4g

Cooking Light, MARCH 2003