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Lamb Meatloaf with Riviera Sauce
Written By: Marlene Osteen | Issue: 2021/03 – March
Meritage Owner/Chef Andrea Schmitt slows down just enough to share a comfort food that draws upon her rich family heritage.
Andrea Schmitt
In earlier days, Eugene Walters, the renowned Southern raconteur and teller of tales about food, referred to me as “Miss Mile-a-Minute.”
That’s a title that would now be more aptly conferred on my much younger cohort– Andrea Schmitt, owner/chef at Meritage Restaurant.
In her daily duties at the restaurant she buzzes about the property with quick, long strides speaking in a rapid succession of words.
These days it’s rare to see a family dish in a fine-dining restaurant. But, Lamb Meatloaf, a dish inspired by Schmitt’s German Grandmother who took inspiration from her Italian Mother-in-Law, has been on the menu since the beginning.
Lamb Meatloaf with Riviera Sauce
Ingredients
For the Lamb Meatloaf
1 tablespoon Sunflower or other Neutral Oil
1 medium Onion, finely chopped
1 Medium Carrot, finely chopped
1 t tablespoon Ground Cumin
Ground Black Pepper to taste
1 lb. Ground Lamb
¼ cup Egg Whites – from 4 Egg Whites
For the Riviera Sauce
1 jar Roasted Red Peppers – 12 to 14 oz.
1 small can Tomato Paste – 4 oz.
4 cloves Garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon Sugar
1 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon of Black Pepper
1 teaspoon Cumin
1 tablespoon White Vinegar
1 tablespoon Sunflower Oil
Directions
1. Make the meatloaf: Heat oven to 350 degrees and grease a rimmed baking sheet with oil. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a medium skillet over medium. Add onions and carrots, stirring occasionally until softened about 8 minutes. Add cumin and black pepper and stir until aromatic – about 2 minutes.
2. Place the ground lamb in a large bowl. Add to onion and carrot mixture and mix until well blended. Add the egg whites and mix gently to combine, being careful to not overwork the meat. Shape into a meatloaf on the prepared pan, and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
3. Meanwhile make the Riviera Sauce. Combine tomato paste, garlic, sugar, salt and pepper, cumin, white vinegar and oil in a food processor blender and puree until mostly smooth. Add the red peppers, one at a time and pulse after each addition until smooth.
4. Remove meatloaf from the refrigerator and place on a middle rack in the preheated oven. Bake until nicely browned and an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center registers 160 degrees, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer meatloaf to a platter and let stand tented with foil, 10 to 15 minutes. Slice and drizzle with the Riviera Sauce.