Dads Meatloaf with Tomato Relish

Ingredients

• Extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 onion
• finely diced
• 2 garlic cloves
• minced
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 red bell peppers
• cored
• seeded
• and finely diced
• 2 tomatoes
• halved
• seeded
• and finely diced
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 (12-ounce) bottle ketchup
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 1/2 pounds ground beef
• 3 eggs
• Leaves from 2 fresh thyme sprigs
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3/4 to 1 cup fresh bread crumbs (2 or 3 slices stale white bread
• crusts removed
• pulsed in the food processor)
• 3 bacon slices

Instructions

1. Coat a skillet with a 2-count of oil and place over medium heat.
2. Saute the onion, garlic, and bay leaves for a few minutes to create a base flavor.
3. Throw in the red peppers and cook them for a couple of minutes to soften.
4. Now add the tomatoes; adding them at this point lets them hold their shape and prevents them from disintegrating.
5. Stir in the parsley, ketchup, and Worcestershire; season with salt and pepper.
6. Simmer the relish for 5 minutes to pull all the flavors together.
7. Remove it from the heat; you should have about 4 cups of relish.
8. Preheat the oven to 350F.
9. This is where you get your hands dirty!
10. In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground beef with 1 1/2 cups of the tomato relish, the eggs, and thyme; season with salt and pepper.
11. Add the bread crumbs in stages, starting with 3/4 cup; you may not need all of them.
12. To test, fry a small hamburger patty of the meatloaf until cooked; the patty should hold together but still have a soft consistency.
13. Taste the patty for seasoning.
14. Fill a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with the meat mixture and tap the pan on the counter so it settles.
15. Flatten the top with a spatula and cover with another 1/2 cup of the tomato relish.
16. Lay the bacon across the top lengthwise.
17. Place the pan on a cookie sheet; this prevents the liquid from dripping and burning on the bottom of the oven.
18. (I also recommend rotating the meatloaf a few times so the bacon browns evenly)
19. Bake the meatloaf for 1 to 1 1/2 hours until the bacon is crisp and the meatloaf pulls away from the sides of the pan.
20. Remove the meatloaf from the oven and let it cool a bit before slicing.
21. Serve with the remaining tomato relish on the side.
22. Unbelievably moist!