Sundried Tomato Pesto Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf Rounds
11.14.11
I’m a lover of pesto, but you add in sundried tomato and you have a pretty spectacular pesto in my opinion. I usually make a spinach pestobut I think my new favorite is this sundried tomato pesto. The tomatoes add a slight sweetness to the pesto. Yum! Now let’s talk meatloaf. I have to admit I have bad memories of meatloaf from my childhood. I was never a meatloaf fan or a fan of red meat. You see back in 7th grade I had a horrible encounter with food poisoning after eating a hamburger and after that I swore meat off. And let’s put it this way, it’s been a very long time since I’ve eaten red meat. My husband is a huge lover of meat so when I adapted the paleo lifestyle he questioned, well are you going to eat meat? I immediately said no, but after a lot of chicken and fish I started to reconsider. Especially after hearing podcast after podcast from some of my favorite Paleo people about the benefits of eating grassfed meat. With that being said, I decided to give this meat thing another try…..but in small doses of course. So here is one of my first attempt at eating meat again. I can’t say I’m full on board yet, but I can tell you this recipe made me have a whole new look on meatloaf. The bacon wrapped around the meatloaf adds a lot of flavor to the meat and wraps in all the juices. Pretty fabulous I have to say! And that little side dish on the side….I’ll be sharing with you soon….I promise! It could be a great addition to your upcoming Thanksgiving dish so come back soon to see that recipe.
See you back soon!
Sundried Tomato Pesto Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf Rounds
1/2 cup sundried tomato pesto, plus 1/4 cup for tops (see recipe below)
1 tablespoon chopped oregano
1 tablespoon chopped basil
1/2 tablespoon fresh thyme
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 pound fresh grass-fed beef
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup blanched almond flour
1 large egg
1/2 pound fresh ground veal
4 slices bacon
Sundried Tomato Pesto
3 cloves garlic
1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes (in oil if you can, rehydrate per instructions if dried)
1/2 cup fresh spinach
1/2 cup fresh basil (a small bunch)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Add the garlic, sun dried tomatoes, tomato paste and herbs to your food processor and blend. Stream in the olive oil until the pesto comes together. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a large mixing bowl, add veal, beef, almond flour, pesto, herbs, salt, pepper, onion,and garlic. In a small separate bowl, whisk in the egg and add it to meat mixture. With your hands or a spoon, combine the mixture until well incorporated.
Form mixture into 4 equal rounds and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Wrap bacon strips around each meatloaf round. Top each round with additional sundried tomato pesto.
Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until the meatloaf is cooked to desired doneness.
Makes 4 rounds
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I really cannot eat meat – can’t digest it… but do love the taste. My husband, however, is an uber carnivore. I buy nothing but grass fed everything. I have a farmer who butchers her beef young – nine months, tops, so a very beautiful grass fed young beef. (not veal and not fed like North American veal) Actually, I buy our chickens and port from her, too. I completely believe in knowing your farmer. Then – meatloaf! My mom’s is my favourite home recipe – until I discovered a bacon wrapped meatloaf I have on my site (both are on my site) and I have been one of the lone fans of the old fashioned meatloaf forever! Yours looks really tasty and I love that the portions are small: between a patty and a meatball. I have a similar recipe I do with ground turkey – by similar, I mean I add sundried tomato and a lot of other things – then I stuff jumbo or giant pasta shells with that sumptuous and flavourful filling. I absolutely agree that anything with sundried tomato pesto is stellar. Do you make your own? It is so easy to do!
Valerie
Goodness gracious! This recipe elevates the concept of meatloaf from humdrum to haute cuisine!
i check your website weekly while planning my meals…they are always delish. thanks so much! i am not a meatloaf fan but i think you are about to make me a believer!
I just wanted to say, “THANK YOU!!!” for sharing all of these awesome recipes and especially this one! I have made this meatloaf several times already and my friends are in love with them. In fact, I’ve shared your website with them for paleo inspiration. I always look forward to what you come up with next!
Thanks Reid! So happy you have enjoyed this recipe. I’ll keep trying to come up with more fun Paleo recipes too for you to try.
I do not like meatloaf at all. However these looked delicious! I tried them tonight and they did not disappoint. I had to change a few things for what I had on hand, but they were fantastic and so flavorful! We topped them with a bit of feta cheese and it seriously completed the meat!
Thanks so much for this awesome recipe!
My husband found this recipe and wanted to try it – we had most of the ingredients so I made it tonight and it was really delicious! I had some regular basil pesto in my freezer, so I just added chopped sundried tomatoes to that and put the tomato paste directly in the meatloaf mix. I had to make a few other minor substitutions based on what I had on hand (dried herbs, only beef), but it still turned out great. Thanks for sharing! I’m looking forward to exploring your blog!
Will be trying this one tonight. Looks like a great recipe!
This looks amazing!! I can’t wait to try it!
Hey, can you use coconut flour instead of Almond flour? Someone in out house has a nut allergy. Thanks
Hi Becky,
You can use coconut flour, but you won’t need as much. I would reduce and just add a tablespoon just to thicken and so the meatloaf isn’t too wet.
I’m so excited to try these, and to have found a pesto recipe that doesn’t have nuts in it!!!!!
These look great! For the meatloaf, is the oregano and basil fresh or dried? Thanks so much!
Hi Amanda, the herbs should be fresh if you can.