French Onion Meatloaf

• servings: 6 servings

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

3 large yellow onions, finely diced (about 1¼ pounds [567 g], or about 4 cups diced

Kosher salt

¼ cup [60 ml] Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 large eggs

1 cup [70 g] panko breadcrumbs

2 pounds [907 g] ground turkey (99% lean)

One 7-ounce [198g] block Gruyère cheese, cut into ½-inch [1 cm] cubes (nearly 2 cups diced)

Directions

Place the oil and butter in a heavy saucepan or Dutch oven (something that will conduct heat evenly) and set it over high heat. Once the butter melts and sizzles, add the onions and cook, stirring now and then, until everything is sizzling together, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle the onions with 1 teaspoon kosher salt and turn the heat to medium.

Continue to cook the onions, stirring now and then and adjusting the heat as needed to keep them from burning and/or sticking, until the onions have melted into a dark brown, amazing-smelling heap, almost like an onion jam, 40 minutes. (They will have cooked down to about a third of their original volume.)

Add the Worcestershire sauce and balsamic vinegar, turn the heat to high and bring the mixture just to a boil, then turn off the heat. Let the onions cool to room temperature.

While onions are cooling, preheat your oven to 350°F [175°c]. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

Place the eggs and 2 teaspoons kosher salt in a large bowl and whisk well to combine. Add the cooled onion mixture and the breadcrumbs and stir well to combine. Add the turkey and diced cheese and use your (clean!) hands to mix everything together.

Transfer the mixture to the prepared sheet pan and shape into a 10-by-5-inch [25-by-13-cm] rectangle that's about 2 inches [5 cm] tall.

Bake the meatloaf until it's dark brown, firm to the touch, the bits of exposed cheese are bubbling, and the meatloaf measures 165F° [74°C] on a digital thermometer inserted at its center, about 1 hour. Note that this is not the most attractive thing in the world, so don't despair (also note that it's delicious.

Serve in thick slices hot, warm, or cold in a sandwich (my personal favorite).

Notes

From: ‘Simply Julia’ by Julia Turshen

PITA: 2.5/5

Overall: 5/5

Omg so fucking flavorful I could eat this whole thing many time many days in a row

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 serving
• Calories: 452
• Total Fat: 23.6g
• Total Carbohydrate: 17.2g
• Protein: 44.3g