Potato & Salami (Meat) Loaf - Survival Food

I don't mean to be dramatic with the title, but I thought it was important to mention the circumstances in which this recipe was invented. We ran out of cooking gas (LPG) about 3 days ago, and the stupid Indane people refuse to deliver the new cylinder. While I was in Bangalore, AK either ordered in or went over to Neha & Abhishek's for his meals. Now that I'm back, I decided to figure out a meal (barring sandwiches & salads) that could be made without the stove. And this is what I came up with!

The basic concept is that of meatloaf. I just didn't have any minced meat in my freezer today.

I used:

4 potatoes
2 carrots
2 onions
1/2 cup peas (frozen - I'm too lazy to shell fresh peas!)
2-3 tbsp melted butter
2-3 tbsp cream
2 eggs
1 cup breadcrumbs (approx - I actually used 2 handfuls)
3-4 cloves of garlic - minced/crushed
3 green chillies - depends on your chilly threshold!
salt & (freshly ground) pepper to taste
1 tbsp dry parsley - if you have fresh, use 3 tbsp
250 gms sliced salami
Crumbled bacon (optional)
Some grated cheese to top the loaf - about 1/2 cup
Deep fried garlic & onions (optional)

Pre-heat oven (on bake setting - only bottom coil) at 350 F/ 150 C

I boiled the potatoes in the microwave - wash them well (with the peel) and place in a plastic bag or a dish with a lid. No need to add water. Microwave on high for 6 minutes. Cool and peel.

While the potatoes are boiling, get the other ingredients ready. Grate the carrots, chop the onions & green chillies finely, mince the garlic, rinse out the frozen peas, cut the salami in half.

I mashed up the boiled potatoes with a potato masher on a plate. A fork or your hands work just as well.

Pour in the melted butter and mash some more.

Pour in the cream and mash.

Add a tsp of salt & some pepper.

Yes, that's AK helping me since my hands were a mess with all the mashing :)

Add in some parsley...

Mix well.

Add the peas.

Add the carrots, the onions, green chillies, garlic...

Mix well...

In a bowl, crack the eggs...

Whisk well

Put the potato mash mix in this bowl and mix well.

Now for the breadcrumbs...

I just happened to have these. Regular breadcrumbs (home-made or packaged) do just fine. Add and mix well.

Now to assemble... Take a small loaf pan or an oven-proof borosil glass dish. Grease it, either using a tsp of oil and your fingertips, or being lazy like me and using PAM/Saffola spray!!

Take half the potato mash mix and press it down into the bottom of the tin.

Arrange half of the salami in a layer over the potato mash...

Repeat with the remaining potato mash and salami...

Both these pics don't show it, but I made the full layer, leaving no blank space!

Sprinkle on some fried garlic & onions. At this point, I must mention what an angel my Mom is for constantly stocking my fridge with this stuff. It's quite painful and I never attempt it myself, but I don't have the heart to tell her to not go through the trouble either!! It comes in handy for so many things... salads, biryani, mutton curry etc etc...

Sprinkle on some crumbled bacon...

Grate the cheese...

Sprinkle on the assembled loaf... At this point, I would mention that if I had any more breadcrumbs left, I would have sprinkled 2-3 tbsp mixed in with the cheese. It would have given me a nice crust when it combines with the melted cheese... Alas, I ran out of the breadcrumbs :(

Bake for about 30 mins or until the cheese is melted and golden...

While the loaf is baking, make the sauce/gravy... I used the following:

1 tbsp butter
2 small onions
2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp fried garlic
2 tbsp fried onions
1 pack (200 gm) tomato puree
2 tbsp soya sauce
2 tsp mustard powder
pepper (freshly ground) to taste

Use a food processor (or if you're not as lazy as me, a knife and chopping board) and chop the onions, garlic, fried garlic & friend onions very finely...

Melt a tbsp of butter in the microwave in a microwave-safe bowl. I used my measuring cup. Add the chopped onion mix to it and mix. Microwave for a minute so the onions will soften and the butter will absorb the garlicky-oniony flavour.

Add the puree, soya, mustard & pepper...

Mix well and microwave for 1 min. Stir and microwave again for 1 minute. The sauce would have changed colour from red to brown.

At this point, I tasted it and felt that it lacked zing and decided to add 1/2 tsp red chilly powder, a dash of tobasco sauce and worcestershire sauce.

Stir well and micro for another minute and it's ready.

This is what the loaf looks like when done...

 

Cut a slice and place on a plate with buttered toast...

Pour some of the gravy over the loaf slice and dig in!!

Some notes and after-thoughts:
1. Next time I would chop the salami into much smaller pieces because when you dig into the slice with a fork, the potato mash part falls apart much more easily and the big pieces of salami come out seperately. I would still maintain the layer, just have smaller bits.

2. I would add the fried garlic, onions and bacon over the first layer of salami too.

3. For vegetarians, you won't miss out on anything if you omit the salami & bacon. Frankly, I would have preferred a fully veggie loaf today (cos I OD'd on kababs last night), but I had to add in the meat for AK.