Serves 4-6

Momma Cherri’s Soul Food Shack in Brighton was an interesting one. That woman really can cook. She serves up fantastic food from the American South – jambalayas, gumbos and grits a world away from TGI Friday stuff. Her problem was that she was so busy in the kitchen, she couldn’t keep an eye on things front of house, and that’s where she should have been, charming the customers with her lovely big personality. She’s an incredible woman who has fostered 35 children, but she was too soft on her staff, treating them like family. And they were smoking and chatting and generally putting themselves before the customers while she slaved away in the kitchen. So I simply freed up her time, helped her organise the kitchen so it worked without her being there all the time, and within a few weeks her nightly turnover had grown from £80
to £1,000. This American-style meat loaf recipe is all her own. I didn’t need to change a thing.

50g butter
1 large onion, finely chopped
4 celery stalks, finely sliced
1 green pepper, finely chopped
4 spring onions, sliced
2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 tbsp chilli sauce
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 bay leaves
125ml evaporated milk
125ml tomato ketchup
750g minced beef
250g minced pork or sausage meat
2 free-range eggs, lightly beaten
250g breadcrumbs
Freshly ground salt and pepper

1 Melt the butter in a large saucepan and add the onion, celery, pepper, spring onions, garlic, parsley, chilli sauce, Worcestershire sauce and bay leaves. Cook over a gentle heat, stirring occasionally, for about 6 minutes.

2 Add the evaporated milk and ketchup and continue to cook for a further 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Discard the bay leaves.

3 Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas 4.

4 Place the beef and pork in a large bowl, add the eggs, breadcrumbs and vegetable mixture, and season. Place the mixture in an ungreased roasting dish and bake for 25 minutes. Raise the temperature to 200C/Gas 6 and bake
for a further 35-40 minutes.

5 Serve from the roasting dish.

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