Mini Beef Meatloaves with Ketchup Glaze

Ingredients

• 600 g beef mince
• 1 egg
• 50 g breadcrumbs
• 1 medium onion, finely diced
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp dried mixed herbs
• 4 tbsp ketchup
• Dressed green salad, to serve
• Fresh parsley, to serve

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan. Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper — the glaze will drip and caramelise, and you'll thank yourself at the washing-up stage.
2. Tip the beef mince into a large bowl with the diced onion, crushed garlic, breadcrumbs, egg, Worcestershire sauce and dried mixed herbs. Season generously with salt and pepper now — under-seasoned mince tastes flat no matter what glaze you put on it. The raw garlic will mellow as the loaves bake through, so you don't need to worry about it catching and turning bitter the way it would in a pan.
3. Mix with your hands until the mixture just holds together — stop the moment it comes together. Overworked mince goes dense and bouncy; you want tender.
4. Divide into 4 equal portions and shape each into a small loaf, roughly the size of your palm. Space them well apart on the lined tray — crowd them and they'll steam each other instead of forming that proper baked crust on the outside.
5. Stir the ketchup and brown sugar together in a small bowl until smooth, then spoon generously over each loaf, spreading down the sides too so the whole thing lacquers as it bakes.
6. Bake for 28–30 minutes, until the juices run clear and the glaze has darkened to a sticky, almost-burnt-looking lacquer. That deep colour is the sugar caramelising — pull them too early and you've just got warm ketchup.
7. Rest on the tray for 2–3 minutes. The juices redistribute and the glaze sets to a proper sticky finish. Taste a corner if you're unsure on seasoning — adjust now, not at the table.
8. Plate each meatloaf alongside a generous spoon of buttery mashed potato and buttered peas, scatter the fresh parsley over the top, and finish with a squeeze of lemon across the plate — the acid cuts through the sweet glaze and sharpens everything up.