If meatloaf was Italian, it'd look something like this winter-appropriate dish. We've made a soft bed of cheesy mash for slices of zucchini-flecked mince to rest upon and blanketed it in a rich-red sauce for ultimate cosiness. A fresh and flirty side salad and an extra sprinkling of parmesan gets you over the finish line in style.
Preheat oven to 210°C fan-forced. Lightly whisk egg in a bowl. Combine with panko breadcrumbs and set aside for 5 minutes or until breadcrumbs have softened. Grate zucchini. Add mince, zucchini, mozzarella, ½ the Italian kitchen herbs, ¼ teaspoon salt and pepper to breadcrumbs and mix to combine. Place mixture in a lightly greased roasting dish and shape into a freeform 12cm x 6cm loaf.
Peel and crush garlic. Place remaining Italian kitchen herbs, sugar, tomatoes and garlic in a bowl and mix to combine.
Cover meatloaf with sauce mixture and bake for 25–30 minutes or until cooked through. While meatloaf is cooking, continue with step 4.
Peel potatoes and place in a medium saucepan of cold, salted water over high heat. Bring to the boil and cook for 12–15 minutes or until tender. Drain and return to saucepan. Add butter and mash until smooth. Stir through most of the parmesan and season with salt and pepper.
When there is 5 minutes cooking time remaining for the meatloaf, combine red wine vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper in a bowl with salad leaves and toss to coat.
Remove meatloaf from oven and slice. Divide meatloaf, salad and parmesan mash between plates. Top with remaining parmesan and sauce from the roasting pan to serve.