Recipe: Cauliflower-Topped Meatloaf Casserole
Last week I took a recipe from the January/February edition of the Rachel Ray Magazine and modified it to be Paleo. It was totally delicious and one that I am sure to repeat. The original recipe is called "Meatloaf and Potato Pileup." I'm not to keen on the whole 'pileup' part of the name (piles of things don't have good implications in my mind) so I've renamed my version "Cauliflower-Topped Meatloaf Casserole" (which might be equally as lame, but at least it doesn't have the icky implication.).
Ok...here's the recipe:
Cauliflower-Topped Meatloaf Casserole
Prep Time: 45 min
Cook Time: 60 min
1 lrg. head of cauliflower, roughly chopped
4 tbs. butter
1 small onion, diced finely
3 tbs. almond flour
3/4 cup heavy cream (grass-fed preferred but not necessary)
salt and pepper
2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
1 small beet, peeled and roughly chopped
2 eggs
1/2 cup marinara sauce (Bove's brand marinara sauce has very simple ingredients and has no added sugar, plus its delicious or you could make you're own)
1/4 cup almond flour
1/4 flax meal
1 lb. ground turkey (you could use a pound of sweet or hot sausage here for extra flavor)
1 lb. ground beef
salt and pepper
1 tbs. oregano
1tbs. dried basil (or fresh if you have it)
1. Preheat oven to 375
2. In a large pot bring 5-6 cups of water to boil. Once boiling add cauliflower and cook for 5-8 minutes until it is tender, but not too mushy. Drain and set aside.
3. In a small saucepan, melt butter and and add half of the diced onion. Sauté onions until translucent. Add cream and almond flour and whisk together, continue to whisk while it simmers until the mixture has thickened. Salt and pepper to taste. Set aside and let cool.
4. Using a food processor, combine carrots, remaining onion, beets. Drain off excess water from the beets (I used previously roasted beets that were leftover from another meal so there was little water in them. But it may be necessary to drain the fresh beet juice if it is quite liquid-y).
5. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, marinara sauce, almond flour, flax meal, oregano, basil, salt and pepper. Add ground beef, ground turkey and the chopped vegetable mixture into the bowl and mix thoroughly using your hands or a spoon.
6. To make the cauliflower topping: place cooked cauliflower and cream mixture in food processor (or use a handheld chopper) and blend until smooth (like mashed potatoes).
7. Place meat and veggie mixture in a 9x13 baking dish and spread smooth. Top with cauliflower mixture spread smooth as well.
8. Place casserole on a cookie sheet and bake 40 minutes until the edges are browned and it is bubbling. Cover with foil and bake and additional 20 minutes. Check the center of the meatloaf to make sure it is 175 degrees. Let it cool for 15 minutes before serving.
The meatloaf is super moist, but if you're a marinara sauce fan then you could serve it with some warm mariner sauce on the side. Totally delicious.
Enjoy!
(ps it makes great leftovers!)
-Sarah
