Paleo Meatloaf

I love a good meatloaf. I grew up with bland but passable meatloaf that I loved because my dad made it, and it meant that I could eat instant mashed potatoes as a side dish.   I served this as leftovers with other remainders, in this case, scalloped cauliflower and mashed sweet potatoes.

Paleo Meatloaf (Dinner) Serves 4

• 1/3 cup raw cashews
• 4 cups boiling water
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp fennel seed, ground
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper, ground
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• 1 tbsp dried basil (if no fresh basil)
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 2 tbsp ground flax seed meal
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 cup fresh basil
• 1.5-2 lbs ground meat (beef, veal, pork, sausage, etc.)
• 1-1/2 tbsp chopped onion (optional)
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup mustard
• 1-1/2 tbsp honey (or 1/4 tsp liquid stevia)

1. Boil raw cashews for approximately 15 minutes, until soft. Drain.
2. Preheat oven to 350°F
3. Heat oil over medium-high heat. Sauté onions until translucent, ~ 10 minutes.
4. Add garlic and sauté 2 minutes.
5. Add the following 5 spices, stir, and heat 2 minutes more. Remove from heat.
6. Place cashews, eggs, basil, flax seed meal, and onion mix in a food processor and mix until a paste, scraping sides as needed.
7. Mix with meat in a large bowl. Place in a loaf pan.
8. Mix onions, ketchup, mustard, and honey in a small bowl. Spread over meatloaf.
9. Bake for 1 hour.

Oh my god, mmmm.  It is adapted from the meatball recipe from America’s Test Kitchen’s Paleo Perfected, and I cannot wait to try it now.  They solved my no-breadcrumb issue. Raw cashews. Never would have occurred to me. Genius. DO NOT USE ROASTED CASHEWS. Really, I think this is the best Paleo cookbook I have seen yet.

I added the sauce on top, flax seed meal, fennel seed (to pretend I had mixed sausage into the mix…I only had beef), and an extra egg; I do not remember what else. Next time, I think I would like to add wilted baby spinach.

I used whole-grain garlic mustard, which I bought on clearance because the bottle was dirty. Wildflower honey was also on sale due to an overstock. You, too, can have nice things on a budget.

Finally, if you are not Paleo but are nut-free, you can use breadcrumbs instead of cashews. Although cashews are technically seeds, not nuts, you cannot dictate your allergies, and people are often allergic to nuts, cashews (seeds), and peanuts (legumes). Crazy.