Yes, it’s another hot meal recipe in the middle of summer, but at least this week was a little bit cooler!

We’ve had so many farm fresh vegetables and I like to try to change up what I do with them, thus the vegetable turkey meatloaf recipe this week. It turned out to be a wonderful way to hide a significant amount of vegetables in some ground meat that made both taste way better than they usually do alone.

The vegetables I used here were what I had from our farm share but this recipe can include just about any vegetables you want. If you’re using vegetables with more water in them you may have to add a little bit more “breadcrumb”.

The breadcrumbs in this recipe are gluten-free and high in omega-3 fatty acids. I used half hemp hearts and half ground flax meal but you can use one or the other (or regular breadcrumbs if you have neither).

Another ingredient that we really love is the pickled peppadew peppers, which has become a staple in our house now after discovering it in a few of the Blue Apron meals we received. It’s a sweet and spicy little red pepper that has a unique and delicious flavor to it.

We can’t find the peppadew locally so have had to order it online. It’s worth the effort if you like sweet, spicy combos in your foods. You can also substitute this with a regular red bell pepper. It’s not quite as flavorful but it keeps the pretty red color in your loaf!

Ingredients:

1 pound lean ground turkey
2 cups of kale, chopped (with stems removed)
1 carrot, grated (approximately 1 cup)
1 small fennel bulb, grated (approximately 1 cup)
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 small red onion, chopped
6 peppadew peppers, diced (or 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped)
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped (optional, we had a lot so I added it)
4 oz feta cheese, crumbled (optional)
1 egg
1 TBSP olive oil
1/4 cup or hemp heart and 1/4 cup ground flax meal (or 1/2 cup of either, or regular breadcrumbs if you have neither)
1 TBSP each: dried basil and dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in a large fry pan on medium high heat.

2. Add all of the chopped and shredded vegetables, EXCEPT FOR THE PEPPADEWS. If you’re using red bell pepper, add them in with the rest of the vegetables.

3. Stir vegetables into the olive oil, lower heat to medium and continue to stir for several minutes (until vegetables appear to be softening).

4. Preheat oven to bake 350.

5. In a large bowl combine the raw ground turkey, “breadcrumbs”, egg, peppadews, feta, basil and oregano.

6. Once the vegetables are somewhat softened, add them into the bowl as well.

7. Mix all ingredients together thoroughly and then transfer to a standard meatloaf pan (8-1/2 x 4-1/2 x 2-1/2 inches, or anything close to this size).

8. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.

9. Remove foil and cook for another 20 - 30 minutes until loaf starts to separate from sides slightly and there is no pink in the meat.

10. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Final Notes:

Like chili, meatloaf is an incredibly versatile “food group”. You really can add just about any type of vegetables you like.

You can also play with the texture of the vegetables. I like some shredded and some chopped because it makes the shredded vegetables “disappear” while still leaving some texture from others.

I also like adding in a variety of different colors with the vegetables so the loaf ends up being a pretty combination of greens, red, orange, etc. (The picture above is generic, because I have not yet mastered food photography!)

Have fun with this recipe and make it your own. If you come up with something great, please don’t hesitate to share it!!