Meatloaf With Moroccan Spices
- Total Time
- About 2 hours 30 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:6 generous servings
- 2tablespoons olive oil, more as needed
- 1medium onion, diced (about 1 cup)
- 12garlic cloves, minced
- 1 to 2medium stalks celery, diced (about ½ cup)
- 1large carrot, diced (about ½ cup)
- 3inches fresh ginger root, peeled and minced (about ⅓ cup)
- 2tablespoons ground cumin
- 2tablespoons smoked paprika
- 1tablespoon ground coriander
- 1tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1teaspoon salt
- 7tablespoons tomato paste
- ½cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
- ½cup chopped fresh mint leaves
- ½cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
- 2eggs, lightly beaten
- 1cup whole-wheat bread crumbs
- 2pounds ground lamb
- ½cup pine nuts toasted in a 350-degree oven until fragrant and golden brown (about 5 to 7 minutes)
- 1cup plain full-fat Greek-style yogurt
- 3tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from about 1 lemon)
Side Sauce (optional)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
746 calories; 54 grams fat; 19 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 21 grams monounsaturated fat; 8 grams polyunsaturated fat; 31 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams dietary fiber; 8 grams sugars; 37 grams protein; 822 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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- Step 1
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium heat, then add the onions. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and stir for another minute or two. Add the celery, carrots and ginger, and cook for about 5 minutes, adding more olive oil as needed to make sure ingredients are well coated and softening.
- Step 2
Add the spices: cumin, smoked paprika, coriander, cinnamon and salt, stirring well to mix. (You can alter spices to your liking, with more or less of those recommended or adding curry powder, nutmeg, allspice, black or cayenne pepper.) Add the tomato paste and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring well and scraping the bottom of the pan with a spatula to ensure the spices don’t burn. Once mixture is cooked, remove pan from heat and let cool for about 15 minutes.
- Step 3
Meanwhile, combine in a large bowl the fresh herbs (cilantro, mint and parsley) and the eggs and bread crumbs. Add the ground lamb and the cooled mixture. Mix well with clean hands, until all ingredients are blended.
- Step 4
Place the mixture into a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan and cover with aluminum foil. Create a water bath by placing the loaf pan into a larger baking pan and filling the larger pan halfway with lukewarm water. (This helps keep the meatloaf moist by keeping the temperature more even during baking.)
- Step 5
Put the meatloaf, in the bath, into the oven and cook for about 1 hour 30 minutes. After an hour, check the meatloaf, and remove the foil if you would like a firmer top. Bake until internal temperature reaches 140 degrees. (This is a good time to toast the pine nuts if you’re making the sauce.)
- Step 6
Remove pans from the oven, lift the loaf pan out of the water bath, and let the meatloaf cool for at least 5 minutes. If there is excessive grease, carefully pour that out and discard it. Serve warm, at room temperature, or cooled, depending on your taste.
- Step 7
If you're making the sauce, mix the yogurt, lemon juice and pine nuts together with a spoon, and serve in a small dish on the side.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Elizabeth
If I don't eat lamb would this recipe still carry a similar punch with turkey, beef and pork mixed?
Pat
Walnuts are sometimes used as a substitute for pinenuts in Genovese pesto so I would try that (yes, I know not authentic but still tastes fine). If you live in the States there are great sources on-line. The best ones import from Turkey. Avoid pinenuts from China -- some packers use a preservative that causes "pinenut mouth."
dimmerswitch
Pat, As a person who had "pine nut mouth" about ten years ago due to using China packed pine nuts at the time (typically what is sold at Trader Joe's and even Whole Foods these days) I learned about the problem the hard way. Thank you for taking the time in your post to give "heads up" to others. I am so often unable to find Turkish or Italian or American pine nuts that I substitute for pine nuts with pistachios or walnuts, depending on recipe.
Susan
Wonder if anyone has tried this recipe with ground turkey or chicken?
Elizabeth Renwick
I made this recipe with ground beef and was very pleased with the taste. Next time I make this recipe I would use about three quarters of the quantity of each of the spices as the meatloaf was quite spicy (for a few in the family!). The soft texture meant the loaf came out of the cooking pan slightly broken at one end; an expanding loaf pan would avoid this. The sauce was delicious. I used walnuts + half a teaspoon of sumac. Chopped dried apricots or pomegranate would work well in the sauce.
Dr B Milwaukee
Can this be turned into meatballs for a cocktail hour? If so, how would you finish the cooking part?
FoodLover
I was very disappointed with this recipe. I made it exactly as outlined. Usually I love big flavors, and esp. the ones in this recipe. However, the spices were overpowering and the consistency was mushy (it crumbled when cutting it). I wonder if there is a typo with spices, and it should be TSP instead of TB? There are 6 TB not even including salt, ginger and fresh spices. I used Penzeys spices so maybe they were too fresh? Could not even tell I was eating lamb. Sauce was nice tho!
Amber
The seven tablespoons of tomato paste in the recipe is about the same as a 6 oz can of tomato paste.
Delicious recipe. Worth the time and trouble.
Michele
Or shelled pistachios.
John Spray
Consider toasted, unsalted sunflower seeds instead of the pine nuts. Also, toast cumin and coriander seeds in a dry skillet and grind them yourself... the flavor is enhanced.
camilia
Served this to poker group. They all loved it. Agree it may be too heavy on cumin & smoked paprika. I felt it a bit too moist & hard to slice because of moistness. Next time, will cook for 45 min. in water bath, then remove for last half. Taking foil off after 1 hr. is best or top never gets crusty. Also, the rec re: 140 degrees is extremely helpful; otherwise, you may think the meat is not cooked because loaf is so moist. Next time I'm going to add some cooked chard or spinach.
Marie
We follow a low carb diet. Can I make this without the breadcrumbs?
Michael
This is a delicious meatloaf, if a bit expensive if you go for really good lamb. I found that after draining the fat, I wished I'd kept a little because the loaf is a tad dry. But I did make the sauce and that helps a lot. Very flavorful! Thanks a lot. I've already shared it with my neighbors.
Suzanne
This is a fabulous recipe, a redemption for meatloaf malaise , and a gateway re-lapse drug for us semi vegetarians who do get a craving for meat every once in awhile, but have lost all interest in beef, no matter what the cut. Lamb is expensive; I bought 2 lbs of gound lamb from Australia, a total of about $20--but so worth it, for taste and its "satiety" factor. Followed the spice suggestions almost exactly, cooked a little tester first, added another teaspoon of fine sea salt.
Francine
I found this to be so heavily spiced that it ended up tasting like soap. I'll try it again, but will cut the spices in half.
Chris de Santa Fe
Had 1.67 lb lamb for filling zucchini boats so scaled down a bit. Grated rather than diced the veggies to reduce bulk, replaced Tbsps of spices by tsps. No ginger or tomato paste. About 1 C herbs combined. Added more bread than called for to soak up veg. juices and 4 eggs instead of 2 to bind everything because the cooked meat was pretty dry after draining off fat. Topped filled boats with slices of white cheddar. Very good!
Pat B
Made this with half lamb and half ground beef (85/15) and didn't cook it in the water bath. Took about 15 min less time to get to 140, but it was still plenty moist and delicious. Love all of the spices.
margot
I made this exactly as proposed, except used beef, and made 3 smaller loaves - to cook more quickly. They took 50 minutes to reach 145 degrees under the aluminum foil, in the pan inside another pan with water in it. Then I browned the top under the broiler. Also added 1 minced clove garlic to the the sauce. It was fantastic.
Sara Buckley
I used ground turkey, adding some more olive oil to add more fat. It came out well, though I would either decrease the amount of smoky paprika or eliminating it all together next time. Plain Greek yogurt was good, even without the lemon and pine nuts.
Sofia
I subbed 3 lb ground turkey. Kept spice amounts the same, except left out cinnamon & coriander and sprinkled in some za'atar. Bumped up bread crumbs slightly and added one egg. Water bath just for the first hour, then cooked w/out water bath remaining time (took about 1 hr 45 min to get up to 165 F). Especially good with shwarma-style garlicky yogurt sauce: 6 oz grk yogurt, splash of lemon juice, 1 garlic clove, salt to taste.
Katherine
Reduce the spices by half, add two eggs and a few tablespoons of olive oil to add moisture. The recipe as written is dry and chalky, and spices overwhelm the lamb flavor.
Gretchen
I made this meatloaf with ground turkey, and I used the Moroccan spice blend Ras El-hanout ( Ras Al-hanout) which I had on hand. It includes most of the spices called for in the recipe, including cumin, coriander, ginger, and more. I added smoked paprika to the meat mix, and I sprinkled smoked paprika and black pepper on the top. I think I will increase to 3 eggs the next time, to help it hold together a little better, but the taste was excellent.
Es
Excellent. For 2 of us I used 1 lb of ground lamb and roughly 1/2 the spices and herbs. Omitted mint. Baked in a 8" loaf pan a bit short of the 90 minutes (used a thermometer). I was able to turn it onto a serving platter and I quite loved it. The sauce was good but not necessary, as the meatloaf was very juicy. I would make it again. Served it with a roasted, spiced eggplant; recipe from La Boite site.
Hannah
I read all the notes and cut back the spices a little, but after eating it with the yogurt sauce I would suggest cutting the spices in half. We like flavourful food and we eat a wide variety of foods, but this was definitely overboard. Also, I added some lemon zest, salt, cilantro, and crushed up the pine nuts in a mortar & pestle. We will definitely make the yogurt sauce again.
trina
We get our pine nuts at Costco...big bag...freezes well. No problems.
Carolyn
Can anyone suggest a good substitution for the tomato paste? I used to love meatloaf but I no longer am able to eat concentrated tomato anything. Thanks
Ruth
I just read about "pine nut mouth" checked my refrig, and found 2 bags of pine nuts from China! What to do about them? Can they be rinsed of preservative? Where can I buy a preservative free brand?
Linda
These comments are generally so old! Anyone can make a "meat"loaf, using any kind of food incorporating most of these spices & herbs: squash with faro is nutty, flavorful, & sweet; chicken, turkey, lamb, pork, or beef or a combo of the latter two meats always work well, as does a variety of veggies; e.g., making a "meat"loaf out of ingredients you'd use for ratatouille? Sublime. As a long-time chef, don't restrict yourself to a recipe. Undo your reins & give it another name besides "meat"loaf.
Daniel K
The amount of spices indicated are way too much. It's a shame because the concept is great but this is not a recipe to follow as indicated. Cut the spices down at least by 1/2.
Clare
the best meatloaf ever! i made with beef
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