Meatloaf Stuffed with Eggs (Slovenian Stefani Pecenka)

slovenian-stefanipecenka Stephanie roast in Slovenia is called Stefani pecenka it is minced meat with spices, some bread, similar to a meatloaf but with surprise of hard-boiled eggs stuffed in the middle. It is easy to make and is a lovely main course for any occasion. The Stephanie roast goes beautifully with Slovenian roasted potatoes which are called prazen krompir. I made mine with a combination of beef and pork. It is flavoured with onion, garlic and some paprika, thyme, parsley and a popular spice blend called vegeta which you can pick up here if you can't find it. It really is a pretty dish when sliced open with the hard-boiled eggs inside. Did you know that Slovenia is also called the "Land of Hayracks". Hayracks are exactly what they sound like a rack to dry hay and they dot the picturesque rural country side of Slovenia. Slovenia is a unique little country in Europe that I am sure will become a new tourist hot spott. After all, what is not to love about a country with such diverse geography from alps to a coastline along the Adriatic Sea?

1 lb ground beef
1 lb ground pork
1 medium onion
1 clove garlic, minced
5 slices bread, day old
¾ cup milk
1 tsp. black pepper, freshly ground
1 tsp. ground paprika
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. dried parsley
2 tsp. Vegeta seasoning
sea salt
breadcrumbs if too thin
5 Tbsp. oil (2 for roasting onions, 3 for dripping roast)
6 eggs
¼ cup beef stock

Preheat an oven to 375°F (190°C/170°C fan, Gas Mark 5).

Soak the bread slices in milk.

Chop the onions finely and sauté in a little oil until translucent. Add in the minced garlic and sauté for another minute. Set aside.

Transfer the ground meat to a larger bowl in which to mix the meat and add the soaked bread, all the spices, one egg and the cooked onion and garlic. Mix the ingredients thoroughly. If the meat mixture is too thin, bread crumbs can be added. The mass should still be soft, but able to be molded. Set aside.

In the meantime, boil the remaining 5 eggs in water until hard, cool in ice water and then peel the eggs.

Put the meat to a work surface and with our hands form a kind of "tunnel" into which we load the boiled eggs.

Then close the "tunnel" and form a loaf.

Transfer the meat loaf to an oiled baking dish. Pour over the beef soup stock.

Bake for 10 minutes in a preheated oven, then reduce the temperature to 340° and bake for approx. 50 minutes.

After baking, remove the baking pan from the oven, cover the meat loaf with aluminum foil and let rest for 10 minutes.

Then turn the baking pan over and slice into thick slices.

Serve with Slovenian roasted potatoes and enjoy.

Makes 4 servings.