Mini Pork & Tomato Meatloaves

This time it was The Bloke's turn to be feeling a bit unwell and he sent me a text asking for mashed potatoes. I'm pretty sure he wanted something to go with the mash so before leaving for  my Spanish lesson, I pulled a pack of pork mince out of the freezer to defrost and used the train journey to have a think about what to make. I decided on one I haven't done for over a year. Pork and Tomato Mini Meatloaves. He wanted comfort food and I was happy to accommodate.

Pork & Tomato Mini Meatloaves

Ingredients:  (Makes 6)

500g pork mince
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 carrot, chopped very small
1 onion, chopped finely
1 clove garlic, minced.
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 slices bread, made into breadcrumbs
200g chopped tinned tomatoes
1 egg
small bunch fresh thyme
few cherry tomatoes
pinch of sugar
salt & pepper

Method:

Set oven to 200 C. In the oil, cook the chopped carrot, onion and garlic on a medium heat for about 8 minutes until carrots are tender. Scrape into a large bowl and leave to cool for a moment. Then, to the bowl, add the pork mince, Worcestershire sauce, breadcrumbs, tinned tomatoes, the egg and half of the thyme leaves. Season with salt and pepper and mix well.

Lightly oil 6 ramekins or muffin tins and fill the meat mixture to the top. Press a half of a cherry tomato in the middle (cut side up) and sprinkle the tomato with a pinch of sugar. Add the rest of the thyme leaves and put the filled ramekins onto a baking sheet. Bake for 35-40 minutes.

I prefer these to the standard loaf tin meatloaf that you slice. They seem more manageable and are lighter. And I love individual portions of anything. I served two per person with creamy mashed potatoes and broccoli.