Black Rice Curried Meatloaf

From EatingWell: March/April 2008 — Subscribe Now!

Meatloaf need not be boring or dry. This version is moist with cooked rice and plenty of vegetables. Curry powder gives extra flavor to the meatloaf and mango chutney spread on top stands in for the traditional ketchup topping.

8 servings

Active Time: 35 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours

Nutrition Profile

Diabetes appropriate | Low calorie | Healthy weight | View Complete Nutrition Guidelines»

Ingredients

1/2 cup Black Japonica rice blend, or long-grain brown rice (see Note)
1 cup water
1 medium zucchini, shredded using the large holes of a box grater
1 tablespoon walnut oil, or extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
1 tablespoon curry powder
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon salt
2 pounds 93%-lean ground beef
1 large egg, beaten
1/3 cup mango chutney, plus more for serving, if desired

Preparation

Bring rice and water to a boil in a small saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer at the lowest bubble until the water is absorbed and the rice is tender, 30 to 50 minutes (see Test Kitchen Note). Remove from the heat and let stand, covered, for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, squeeze any excess moisture from zucchini. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add ginger and garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30 seconds. Add onion, celery and the zucchini; cook, stirring often, until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in curry powder; cook 1 minute. Stir in Worcestershire sauce and salt until combined. Transfer to a large bowl and let cool for 15 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a rimmed baking sheet or broiler pan with cooking spray.
Spoon the cooked rice onto a clean cutting board and chop the grains into small bits with a large knife. Transfer to the bowl with the vegetables, add ground beef and egg and gently mix until just combined. Place the mixture on the prepared pan and shape into a loaf, about 10 inches by 5 inches. Spread chutney evenly over the top.
Bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the meatloaf registers 165°F, 1 hour to 1 1/4 hours. Let cool for 10 minutes before slicing. Serve with additional mango chutney, if desired.

Tips & Notes

Note: Grown exclusively at Lundberg Family Farms, Black Japonica was developed from Japanese seed and is a blend of medium-grain black and short-grain mahogany rices that are produced on the same plant. Moist and slightly sticky with a flavor reminiscent of nuts and mushrooms. Use in stuffing, meatloaf or burgers and even rice pudding. Use black rice as a substitute; adjust cooking time accordingly.
Test Kitchen Note: Perfectly cooked rice is not simple. In fact, it's something that we struggle with occasionally in the Test Kitchen. To have the most success cooking whole-grain rice, we recommend using a pan with a tight-fitting lid, cooking on your coolest (or simmer) burner and making sure the rice is simmering at the “lowest bubble.” While testing the recipes that use less than 1 cup of dry rice, we found that the cooking time varied greatly depending on what stove we used. Although whole-grain rice usually requires 50 minutes of cooking, we found smaller volumes of rice were sometimes done in as little as 30 minutes (and burned at 50 minutes). So, when cooking a small batch of rice, start checking it after 30 minutes to make sure it doesn't burn.

Nutrition

Per serving: 340 calories; 14 g fat (5 g sat, 1 g mono); 113 mg cholesterol; 20 g carbohydrates; 33 g protein; 2 g fiber; 587 mg sodium; 148 mg potassium.

Nutrition Bonus: Zinc (45% daily value), Iron (20% dv).

1 Carbohydrate Serving

Exchanges: 1/2 starch, 1/2 carbohydrate (other), 4 lean meat