Christmas meatloaf with baked apple filling

Ingredients for 6 servings:

• 100 g almond sticks
• 4 apples, sour (e.g. Cox or Braeburn)
• 50 g butter, soft
• 3 tbsp sugar
• ½ tsp cinnamon powder
• 80 g marzipan paste
• 1 kg minced meat, mixed
• 2 eggs
• 1 vegetable onion(s)
• 1 tbsp mustard
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tbsp paprika powder
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 8 tbsp breadcrumbs
• 75 g diced ham, low-fat
• 3 packs of bacon (100 g each)

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour 20 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 1 hour 15 minutes; Total time approx. 2 hours 35 minutes

First, prepare the baked apples. Roast 100g of slivered almonds in a pan and let them cool. Then cut off the tops of the apples to create a lid. Set the lid aside. Generously cut out the cores (I do this with a sharp knife, then scrape out a little more flesh with a teaspoon). Place the apples in a baking dish. Mix the butter, sugar, cinnamon powder, and 50g of the cooled slivered almonds in a bowl. Reserve the remaining slivered almonds for the meatloaf. Press 20g of the marzipan mixture into each apple, then fill with the butter and almond mixture. Bake the baked apples (uncovered) in a preheated oven at 180°C (convection oven) for 35 minutes. After 25 minutes, replace the lids and finish baking. Set the apples aside and let them cool. Next, prepare the meatloaf. First, fry the ham cubes in a pan until crispy. Set aside. Then finely dice the onion and place it in a bowl. Add the ground beef, eggs, mustard, tomato paste, paprika, salt and pepper, garlic powder, and breadcrumbs and mix everything well. Place the ground beef on a sheet of cling film and spread out into a square approximately 30 x 40 cm. Now chop the baked apples and mix them together (you probably won’t need all of them; about 2-3 will be enough – you can have the rest for dessert). Then place them on the ground beef, leaving a small border all around. Sprinkle the remaining almond slivers on the apple mixture. Then add the ham cubes. Using the cling film, roll everything up from the short side, seal the sides, and place the roast on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Now wrap the roast in bacon, gently tucking the ends under the roast. Bake the roast in a hot oven at 180°C (fan oven) on the middle rack for 40 minutes. This goes perfectly with red cabbage and dumplings, along with a hearty sauce. I really like to eat the roast with port wine sauce (see my recipes). You can also make the roast with just ground beef, which makes it a bit more substantial.