Greek-style slow-cooker meatloaf recipe

I don't know if the Greeks eat meatloaf. If they did, then it would probably taste like this.

Ingredients for 4:

1 lb/ 500g lamb mince / ground lamb
4 tbsp rice (I used brown)
1 green pepper, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg,
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp souvlaki herbs (use a mix of oregano, thyme and rosemary if you can't find this, or herbes de Provence is fine)
1 large egg

Directions:

You may spot that I learnt  a lot during the making of this creation.

First, check the loaf tin you are going to use fits inside your slow-cooker. If you have a small slow-cooker, you can use an oven-proof casserole, or just mound the meat-loaf mixture in the bottom of your stoneware. The first will slow your recipe down slightly and the second will speed it up. I used a 6''by 4'' loaf tin in my big 6 L/ quart slow cooker. After a bit of trial and error.

Then tip your mince into a mixing bowl. It's worth double-checking that the amount of meat you are using fits into the loaf tin you have chosen, leaving a little space for other ingredients. Just in case, you know, your recipe needs adapting. This recipe's fine for a 6'' by 4''. Well it is now, after a little more trial and error.

If you're using frozen mince, it might be worth thawing it out a little in order to be able to really pack the meat down into the tin. Or your meat loaf can just be crumbly. That's tasty too.

Add all the rest of the ingredients, stirring in the spices well before adding the egg. Otherwise, some may get clustered in one patch of the meat loaf. Just conjecture, obviously.

Pack the whole mixture well into your loaf tin and place it in the slow cooker. Pour about 2 inches of water all around your loaf tin. This keeps it nice and moist. Add the lid to the slow cooker and cook the meat loaf for about 8 hours on Low or 4 hours on High. We had a bit after 8 hours on low when my daughter had her tea and the rest after 10 1/2 and both were good, although 10 1/2 was pushing it.

Verdict:

If I wrote for magazines, I'd probably say something like "Just one bite of this and you'll think you're on holiday!" But I don't and, besides, maybe you go on holiday to Bognor. And that's OK too.

Lamb meatloaf is a great idea, I think, because it's a naturally moist meat. I loved the herbs and spices in this - they tasted a bit like kebab and a bit like moussaka - and it was very, very easy too so a winner all round. There's no photo because I can't make a crumbly meatloaf look pretty but next time I'll use fresh mince and all will be we