TOMATO HERB GRAVY

• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 cup chicken stock or broth
• 2 Roma tomatoes, peeled and diced
• 1/2 tbsp dried thyme
• 1/2 tbsp dried oregano
• salt
• pepper

Combine all ingredients for the meatloaf together into a large mixing bowl.  Be sure the onion is finely diced and add the salt and pepper to taste.  Mix all of the ingredients together well with your hands (Don’t be afraid, get in there with your hands.  You can always wash them later!).

Once you’ve got everything mixed well, move the contents of the bowl into a greased loaf pan.  Get it all level and pretty looking, and then place it in the oven at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes (or until fully cooked).  Remove the meatloaf from the oven (with oven mitts please!!).  Allow it to cook for 5 minutes or so before slicing it up and serving it.

But wait!  We can’t serve it without the gravy!  To make the gravy, add the butter to a saucepan on medium heat and let it melt.  Once melted, add the flour and whisk together to start to make your roux.  Add a little of the chicken stock in and whisk until you have a yellowish paste.  Now slowly add the rest of the stock while whisking.  Whisk vigorously to avoid getting any clumps (I mean, who wants clumpy gravy?).  Allow the gravy to come to boil and thicken.  Add in your diced, peeled tomatoes.  If you’re not sure how to peel Roma tomatoes, refer to the tomato sauce recipe.  Finally add in the thyme and oregano as well as salt and pepper.  Whisk everything together and then allow the gravy to simmer and thicken.  You can use an immersion blender to break down the tomato a little if necessary, but be careful not to puree it down too much that the gravy gets thin!

Serve the meatloaf slices with the gravy on top.  It’s quite tasty!  I decided to serve the chicken meatloaf with some butter free Yukon Gold mashed potatoes and swiss chard.  ”Oooh!  Those sides sound perfect!  How do I make those???”  Stay tuned…

The dish starts with a simple “stewing” of tomatoes.  Fill a stock pot with water and bring to a boil.  Add 10 Roma tomatoes to the boiling water.  Slice an X in the bottom of each tomato before adding it to the water (not too deep now, just a nice shallow X to get that skin wanting to jump off the tomato).  Boil for about 10 minutes.  You will see the skin begin to peel off.  Remove the tomatoes from the boiling water and place them immediately into a bowl of cold ice water.  Let them rest for about 10 more minutes and the skins should finish peeling off.  Remove the tomatoes from the water and peel any skin remnants.  Cut off the tops of the tomatoes and slice them.  They’re gonna be very juicy and that tomato juice is going to want to run everywhere so be careful slicing them so as not to lose all that juice; you’re gonna want that in your sauce!  Place the tomato slices and juices into a bowl.  Add one tablespoon each of salt and sugar.  Stir, and then place into the refrigerator for an hour or so until you are ready to use them.

In a large stock pot add olive oil and then one cup each of diced red onion, diced carrot and diced celery (this is the French mirepoix, the base for many Mediterranean sauces and dishes – See! You learned a little French too!).  Also add about 3 cloves of garlic, minced.  Allow to cook down for about 5 minutes or so until softened.  Add in one tablespoon each of dried oregano and dried thyme leaves.  Add a little salt and pepper.  Stir regularly until softened.  Add in the tomatoes from the refrigerator along with one cup of chicken stock (or broth).  Stir and cook down for about 5 minutes or so.  Use an immersion blender to break down the tomato and vegetables, then add one large can of tomato paste.  Stir to incorporate the paste into the vegetables and stock.  Add one cup of water and one cup of red wine (I recommend Chianti, Cabernet Sauvignon or Syrah).  Lastly add in about ½ cup of diced fresh basil.  Stir all the ingredients together and allow to simmer for about 15 minutes or longer, stirring regularly.

Voila!  You have a tasty, basic tomato sauce that you can use as a base for a lot of different Italian dishes!