Lamb bake with tahini sauce and grated tomatoes Yotam Ottolenghi.

- Yotam Ottolenghi’s recipes for autumn bakes | Food | The Guardian

You can serve this in two ways: just as it is, warm, as part of a main meal; or leave it to cool and set, then cut into thick slices – these are great piled into a sandwich or warm pitta with the tahini sauce and tomato drizzled on top. Makes one loaf (or eight slices), to serve four to eight.

1 courgette, roughly chopped
1 carrot, peeled and roughly chopped
1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped
3 tomatoes – 1 roughly chopped, 2 coarsely grated and skin discarded
500g lamb mince, at least 20% fat
4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
80g pecorino, finely grated
50g fresh breadcrumbs
2 large eggs
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground allspice
Salt
100g tahini paste
3 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp olive oil, plus extra for greasing

Heat the oven to 190C/375F/gas mark 5 and grease a 20cm x 10cm loaf tin with a little oil.

Put the courgette, carrot, onion and chopped tomato in the bowl of a food processor and blitz until it’s of a similar consistency to the mince. Transfer to a sieve set over a bowl and squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Put the vegetables in a large bowl, add the lamb, two garlic cloves, all the pecorino, breadcrumbs, eggs, tomato paste and spices, and a teaspoon of salt, then use your hands to bring it all together until well combined.

Transfer to the loaf tin, then put the tin in a high-sided baking dish. Carefully fill the dish with enough boiling water to come halfway up the sides of the tin, then bake for an hour and 10 minutes, until golden brown.

While the meatloaf is cooking, make the sauces. Put the tahini, one garlic clove, two teaspoons of lemon juice and an eighth of a teaspoon of salt in a medium bowl, then slowly whisk in 80ml water until you have a smooth sauce.

In a second bowl, mix the grated tomatoes with the remaining garlic, a teaspoon of lemon juice, the olive oil and an eighth of a teaspoon of salt.

Once the meatloaf is cooked, lift the loaf tin out of its water bath and leave to cool for 10 minutes. Pour off and discard any liquid and fat in the loaf tin, then, using a wide spatula, transfer the meatloaf to a platter. Pour a third of the tahini sauce over the meatloaf, followed by a third of the tomatoes. Serve warm, with the remaining sauces alongside, or leave to cool and cut into slices to serve in pitta bread with the sauces drizzled on top.