Christmas lunch loaf
Looking for an alternative to turkey at Christmas? This festive lunch loaf is packed with flavour, plus it's cheaper and easier to prep and serve
- 3 onionsfinely chopped
- 50g butterplus extra for the tin
- 700g turkey mince
- 500g pork mince
- 250g smoked streaky baconfinely chopped
- 70ml port
- 200g vacuum-packed chestnutsroughly chopped
- 100g dried cranberries
- 1 orangezested
- 1 tsp thyme leaves
- 5 sage leavesfinely chopped
- 2 garlic clovescrushed
- 80g rye crackers(like Ryvita), whizzed to a crumb, or dried breadcrumbs
- trimmings, gravyand bread sauce, to serve
Nutrition: Per serving
- kcal360
- fat17g
- saturates7g
- carbs19g
- sugars9g
- fibre3g
- protein30g
- salt1.1g
Method
step 1
Fry the onions in the butter for 15-20 mins until golden and softened. Butter a 900g loaf tin and put in the fridge to chill.
step 2
Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Combine all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl, and work everything together to form a large meatball. Remove the loaf tin from the fridge and transfer the mixture to it – it will look like a lot, but should all fit if you pack it in. Use a spatula to shape the top, so that it resembles a loaf of bread.
step 3
Cover with foil, then bake for 1 hr, or until the loaf reaches 70C on a meat thermometer. Heat grill to medium, then grill the loaf for 5-10 mins until golden on top. Leave to rest in the tin for 20 mins, then carefully tip the loaf onto a carving board or platter. Serve in slices with the usual trimmings, gravy and bread sauce.