Pork Meat Loaf with Chickpeas

• Recipe by Andrew Carmellini

Chef Way To make juicy meatballs, Carmellini mixes ground pork loin and jowl with pancetta and nearly 20 other ingredients. He then braises the meatballs in a spicy tomato-chickpea sauce.
Easy Way Mix the meat in a food processor, leaving out the pork jowl and about a dozen other ingredients. Instead of meatballs, which require time to form, shape the meat into loaves then cook them in a spicy tomato sauce blended with prepared hummus.

Ingredients

1. Four 1-inch-thick slices of Italian bread, crusts removed, bread soaked in 1 cup of milk and squeezed dry
2. 4 ounces sliced bacon
3. 4 ounces sliced prosciutto
4. 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
5. 2 garlic cloves, very finely chopped
6. 4 oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
7. 1 roasted red pepper from a jar
8. 2 large eggs
9. 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
10. 1 teaspoon chopped thyme
11. 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
12. 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
13. Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
14. 2 1/2 pounds lean ground pork
15. 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing
16. 1 cup tomato puree
17. 1 cup chicken stock or low-sodium broth
18. 1/2 cup prepared plain hummus

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. In a food processor, pulse the bread, bacon and prosciutto. Add the onion, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, roasted pepper and eggs; process to a paste. Pulse in the parsley, thyme, crushed red pepper, oregano and 1 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Transfer to a bowl and knead in the pork.
2. Preheat the broiler. Pat the mixture into two 8-inch-long loaves. In a large nonstick roasting pan, heat the 1 tablespoon of oil. Transfer the loaves to the pan and cook over moderate heat until the bottoms are browned, 6 minutes. Brush the tops with oil and broil until slightly browned, 8 minutes. Lower the oven to 350°.
3. In a cup, combine the tomato puree, stock and hummus. Pour the mixture into the roasting pan and cook for 30 minutes, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of one of the loaves registers 180°. Light the broiler.
4. Spoon some of the sauce over the loaves and broil for 5 minutes, until browned. Transfer to a platter and serve with the gravy.