Meatloaf and Tomato Relish
Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 3 slices white bread (remove crusts removed and tear into pieces)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 red bell peppers, cored, seeded and finely diced
• 2 tomatoes, halved, seeded and finely diced
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 1 (12-oz) bottle ketchup
• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 lb. ground pork
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 tbsp.  worcestershire sauce
• extra-virgin olive oil
• leaves from 2 fresh thyme sprigs
• kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

First, preheat the oven to 350 F.

Coat a skillet with a 2-count of oil and place over medium heat.
Sauté the onion, garlic and bay leaves for a few minutes to a base flavor.

Toss in the red peppers and cook them for a few minutes to soften them up.

Now put in the tomatoes (at this point, the tomatoes should keep their shape and not disintegrate).

Stir in the parsley, ketchup and Worcestershire sauce and season with salt and pepper.

Simmer the relish for 10 minutes to pull all the flavors together.
Remove it from the heat; you should have approximately 4 cups of relish.
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Using a large mixing bowl, soak the pieces of white bread in the whole milk and set aside.

Combine the pound of ground beef with the pound ground pork in another large mixing bowl and mix well.

Now squeeze out the milk from the bread and add the bread to mixing bowl.

Add the 3 eggs, 1 cup of the tomato relish, and thyme – season with salt and pepper and hand mix.

To test if mixture is correct, fry a small amount of the meatloaf until cooked – if it holds together, yet still has a soft consistency, the mixture is correct.

Taste the small amount of cooked meatloaf for proper seasoning.
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Take a small baking tray and line with parchment paper.

Shape the meat into a loaf form on the tray and top with another 1/2 cup of the tomato relish.
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Bake the meatloaf for 60-90 minutes until the juices run clear and meat is tender – it should spring back lightly when pressed.

Remove from the oven and let it cool a bit before slicing the meatloaf.

Serve the meatloaf with the remaining tomato relish on the side