A Small Meatloaf with a French Accent

• 1/3 pound ground beef
• 1/3 pound ground pork
• 1/3 pound ground veal
• 2 plump garlic cloves
• 1 teaspoon salt, or more as needed
• 2 shallots, or 1 small onion
• 4 or 5 sprigs fresh parsley, preferably flat-leaved
• 1 teaspoon dried porcini (no soaking needed)
• 1/4 teaspoon herbes de Provence
• 1/4 cup red or white wine
• Freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 bay leaf
• 1 strip bacon
• Olive oil
• Salt
• 2 new potatoes, cut in eighths lengthwise
• 2 young carrots, peeled
• 1 young parsnip, peeled and cut in half lengthwise, or another root vegetable similarly prepared

1. The night before youre planning to have a meatloaf dinner, put the meats in a bowl.
2. Smash the garlic cloves, peel and chop them fine, then, with the flat of your chefs knife, mash them into a paste with 1/4 teaspoon of the salt.
3. Chop the shallots and parsley, and crumble the porcini.
4. Add all these seasonings to the meats, along with the herbes de Provence, the wine, several grindings of your pepper mill, and the remaining salt.
5. Mix thoroughly with your hands, squishing the meat with your fingers.
6. When thoroughly mixed, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let macerate for 24 hours in the refrigerator.
7. The next day, remove the meat from the fridge and pull off a tiny piece.
8. Cook it quickly in a small skillet, then taste it to see if it needs more seasoning.
9. If so, add whatever is needed.
10. Form the meat into a small loaf.
11. Break the bay leaf into three pieces, and arrange them on top of the loaf; then lay the bacon strip, also cut in thirds, on top.
12. Transfer the loaf to a medium baking pan.
13. Rub a little olive oil and salt over the vegetables you want as an accompaniment, and distribute them around the meatloaf.
14. Bake in a preheated 350 oven for 4550 minutes, turning the vegetables once.
15. Everything is done when the meat looks lightly browned, the bacon a bit crisp, and the veggies tender (the internal temperature of the loaf should be about 150).
16. Let rest for at least 5 minutes, then cut three or more slices, and arrange on a warm plate, with the vegetables surrounding the meat and the juice poured over.
17. Leftover meatloaf is good coldbut not overly chilled.
18. Eaten with a dab of Dijon mustard, little cornichons, and a glass of red wine, it will taste almost like a French country pate.

ground beef, ground pork, ground veal, garlic, salt, shallots, parsley, porcini, herbes, red, freshly ground pepper, bay leaf, bacon, olive oil, salt, potatoes, carrots, young parsnip

Taken from www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/a-small-meatloaf-with-a-french-accent-378367 (may not work)