| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 2 hr 15 min |
| Active: | 1 hr |
| Yield: | 8 servings |
Ingredients
- 10 to 12 prunes, pitted
- 1/2 cup white wine, such as sauvignon blanc
- 2/3 cup hazelnuts
- 3 tablespoons plus 2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
- 2 cups diced onion (about 1 extra-large Vidalia onion)
- 1/2 teaspoon plus 1 1/4 teaspoons fine sea salt, plus more for blanching
- 8 to 10 large cabbage leaves, preferably savoy cabbage
- 2 pounds ground pork, preferably an 80/20 mix ground from pork butt
- 2 cups fresh breadcrumbs, preferably from ciabatta
- 3/4 cup grated parsnip (about 1 large parsnip)
- 1/2 cup grated carrot (about 1 large carrot)
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
- 2 eggs
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
- In a small pot, combine the prunes and wine and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook gently until the wine clings to the prunes, 7 to 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature.
- Place the hazelnuts on a baking sheet and toast until dark golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer the nuts to a clean kitchen towel, gather up the sides to make a pouch, and roll them on the counter to rub off the skins. Unfurl the cloth, and roll the nuts to the edge and into a dish. When the nuts are cool, crush them to a medium grade, using a knife, a mortar and pestle, or a small food processor.
- Heat a medium skillet over medium heat and add 3 tablespoons of the butter, the onions, and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt. Cook uncovered, stirring often, until dark golden and sweet, about 20 minutes. Scrape onto a plate to cool.
- Bring a 2-quart saucepot of well-salted water to a boil.
- Blanch the cabbage leaves in the boiling water until wilted, about 1 minute each. Run the leaves under cold water to cool; shake off excess water. Cut away the thickest part of the stems. Dry the leaves and set them aside on a plate until ready to use.
- Raise the oven temperature to 350 degrees F.
- In a large bowl, combine the pork, breadcrumbs, parsnip, carrot, parsley, thyme, sage, pepper, nutmeg, eggs, the cooled onions, and the remaining 1 1/4 teaspoons salt. Mix swiftly with your hands until just combined.
- Pile the meatloaf mixture into the center of a 9-by-13-inch baking pan and pat into a long rectangular shape. Press the prunes 1/2-inch deep into the meat, like buttons running down the center of the loaf. Pull some of the meat off of each end and use it to cover the tops of the prunes.
- Cover the meatloaf with overlapping cabbage leaves. Rub the outside of the leaves with the remaining 2 tablespoons butter.
- Bake until the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, 50 minutes to 1 hour.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 8 servings |
| Calories | 549 |
| Total Fat | 40 g |
| Saturated Fat | 15 g |
| Carbohydrates | 23 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 5 g |
| Sugar | 4 g |
| Protein | 24 g |
| Cholesterol | 141 mg |
| Sodium | 622 mg |
Reviews
Any suggestions for a substitute for hazelnuts for those of us allergic to nuts?
Absolutely delicious! I have made this 3x with one of the time being for a party and 6 people wanted the recipe. Give it a try!
Creativity bringing sweet and savory to a meatloaf. I agree, the crunchy hazelnuts sweet prunes had my family swearing it was the best meatloaf they had ever eaten! I was a little daunted by the number of ingredients and length of prep time, but am happy I did not let that stop me. This will be a favorite family recipe from now on.
Agreed. This was excellent. We did not have hazelnuts at our local grocery store so I substituted walnuts, finely ground. Prunes were excellent, I used a Torrentes wine from Argentina to soak them in since we had this on hand. The savoy cabbage was an excellent addition, meatloaf was incredibly moist and juicy. This has already become a family favorite
Fantastic. This is how food stays interesting and inventive – she recreates a traditional dish with delicious twists. YES TO THE PRUNES AND HAZELNUTS! They add a subtle sweetness and earthy, crunchy texture that complements the herbs and pork perfectly. I’d say that her unique twist on a classic is for sophisticated palates only but even my picky teenaged son devoured this.
I made this for dinner last evening-I followed it exactly no substitutions!! Not only is it a unique presentation but truly delicious, the prunes melt into the meat and add wonderful flavor. Will make this again for sure!
To Food Network-why has your print out format changed adding all those http//..etc. too convoluted and difficult to read and uses more paper??
To Food Network-why has your print out format changed adding all those http//..etc. too convoluted and difficult to read and uses more paper??
We really, really enjoyed this meatloaf. We normally eat Paul Prudhommes meatloaf and it is really rich. This meatloaf was light with a great herb flavor. We added equal amounts of port and white meat turkey. We also left the prunes out, but did follow the rest of the recipe. We loved the nuts, it added such a great texture. All in all, we really liked this meatloaf and would make it again.
I think it sounds interesting…I’d like to try it even w/the prunes. Don’t some people use raisins in their meatballs, so this sould be the same flavor.