Aromatic Turkey Meatloaf with Caramelised Fennel and Red Onions

Tastey Boy doesn’t really like fennel—he says that it’s a weird vegetable and is averse to it in most forms! I on the other hand, think fennel is remarkably versatile—shaved thin and served raw in a salad or cooked in rustic chunks as a side dish—and lends it’s anise-y scent to fish and poultry beautifully. So to temper TB’s distaste, I hid two whole bulbs in a golden and aromatic turkey meatloaf one night, and he was none the worse for wear. In fact, the caramelized strands added oodles of moisture and texture to the finished dish and he had no compunction wrapping leftovers for lunch the next day and sneaking cold nibblies from the fridge the rest of the week.

Ingredients
1 cup Breadcrumbs
1 cup Milk
3 tbsp Olive Oil
4 cloves Garlic, finely minced
¼ cup Celery, finely chopped
2 large Red Onions, sliced
2 large Fennel bulbs, sliced
2 large Eggs
2 lbs [1 kg] ground Turkey
1 tbsp fresh Thyme
Salt (to taste)
1 tsp Black Pepper

1. Stir together breadcrumbs and milk in a small bowl and let stand for 5 mins. Transfer to a large mixing bowl. 
2. In a large skillet or frying pan, heat 1 tbsp olive oil and sauté garlic and celery over high heat for 3-4 mins until softened. Transfer celery and garlic to the mixing bowl with breadcrumbs mixture. 
3. In the same skillet, heat remaining 2 tbsp olive oil and cook onions and fennel for 7–10 mins, until golden brown and well caramelised. Add onions and fennel to the mixing bowl. 
4. Whisk eggs and add to mixing bowl along with ground turkey, thyme, salt and black pepper, and mix well with your hands to combine all ingredients thoroughly. (Mixture will be fairly moist.) 
5. Place mixture in a baking pan and shape into a roughly 9- by 5-inch rectangular loaf. Cover with foil and bake in a 400ºF [200ºC] pre-heated oven for 1 hour. Remove foil from the baking dish and continue baking uncovered for another 15 mins until the top of the meatloaf is golden. Remove from oven and serve cut into 1-inch thick slices.