Picnic Loaf

Recipe from 'Marvellous Meals with Mince' - for all you 'when we's' (ex Rhodesians) out there we curried the mince and it was Bunny Chow - This is a meat, vegetable and cheese loaf cooked within a bread crust. as a balanced meal for outdoor eating, it is convenient, nourishing and sustaining. After cooking it I leave it wrapped in foil and enclosed in an insulated bag. this keeps the heat in well, so that it is still warm when we reach our picnic spot However, if you prefer to make it well beforehand it is also appetising eaten cold. Oven temperture Gas Mark 5/375F/190C

• Ready In: 1 hr
• Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 1  loaf  bread (small)
•  butter
• 225  g leeks, washed and trimmed
• 225  g beef mince
• 30  ml tomato puree
• 50  g cheese, grated
• 2  garlic cloves, chopped finely
• 20  ml ground coriander
• 1  egg, beaten
•  salt and pepper

Directions

1. Preheat the oven. Cut off one end of the loaf. Pull out all the inside, keeping the empty loaf and cut-off end on one side, and whizz it into breadcrumbs in a liquidiser or a food processor. Heat a good blob of butter in a large frying pan and fry the crumbs until golden brown and crisp, stirring all the time.
2. Chop the leeks finely. Put in a large bowl and mix with the minced beef, tomato puree, grated cheese, chopped garlic and ground coriander. season generously with salt and black pepper and mix in the crisp breadcrumbs and, lastly, the beaten egg.
3. Spoon the mxture into the empty loaf crust, pressing down slighly but filling right to the brim. Replace the end of the loaf and secure by sticking a skewer through. Smear the loaf all over, especially on top with about 15 g butter, then wrap up completely in foil.
4. Put the foil package in a roasting pan and cook just below the center of the oven for 1 hour. After cooking, enclose the foil package in an insulated bag to keep hot, if required.
5. Take a chopping board and a sharp knife on your picnic and cut the loaf into thickish slices just before eating.