This holiday season, cook your very own Hardinera ng mga taga-Lucban, Quezon. Hardinera which is “Gardener” in english is probably cooked by a plantito (a person who loves planting). It was probably inspired from the look of a garden because it’s very colorful and pretty.

Hardinera and Everlasting are both delicious. However, don’t get confused with these 2 meatloaves. They may probably look the same but they are different when it comes to flavor.

Hardinera is more on the pineapple flavor, while Everlasting is on the side of tomato flavor. Hardinera contains pineapple, boiled eggs and bell pepper to make it look like a garden when inverted. While, Everlasting is more like a flower look. It contains red bell pepper and olives to make it look like the everlasting flower. It also contains liver spread and tomato ketchup to enhance its flavor (plus it looks reddish in hue).

I just really hope people will not combine their names. Because they are totally apart. They are both meatloaf but with a different recipe. Happy cooking!

^{Recipe updated 11/26/2020 for Step number 2.}

Watch the Quick Recipe Video of Hardinera:

Hardinera Recipe (of Lucban, Quezon)

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 kilogram ground pork or beef
• 1 medium carrot, 4 slices for decor + mince the remaining
• 2 hard boiled eggs, sliced in ½
• 4-5 raw eggs
• 250g Bread crumbs (2 ⅓ cups)
• 4 tsp salt
• 4 pcs king sue hungarian sausage, minced and mashed with hands (or any)
• 1 medium red bell pepper, roasted and sliced in strips for decor + some minced
• ¼ cup pickle relish
• ¼ cup pasas
• 1 small pack pineapple tidbits
• 1 small can pineapple slices (250g)
• 2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 medium white onion, minced
• 3 cloves garlic minced, or 1 tbsp minced
• 2 tbsp margarine
• 1 bar cheese, grated
• 1 tbsp worcestershire sauce (or soy sauce)
• 1 tbsp dried oregano herbs (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Boil the carrot. Divide carrot, slice 4 flower shape for decor + minced carrots. Also prepare to boil 2 hard boiled eggs for about 12-15 minutes. Set aside.
2. In a large wok, saute onion, garlic, 1 tbsp minced red bell pepper, ground pork and sausage in 1 tbsp oil. Season with salt, pepper, worcestershire sauce and dried oregano. (It will produce extra oils from pork fat so you need to drain it from oil, but dont let it become so dry because you still need some oily texture to make it easier to bind with other ingredients. I think I over did the draining of oil..). Add butter, mix it well and let it cool for 30 minutes. Set it aside
3. In another bowl. Mix the rest of the ingredients.
4. Add in the sauted meat and mix and then add raw eggs one at a time while mixing in between.
5. Prepare a 6″ round aluminum pan or and grease it well with margarine. (Alternatively you may use large-medium oval llaneras).
6. Assemble the flower shape carrots, boiled egg slices, roasted bell pepper and pineapple slices. Add the meat mixture. Press it down to compress the meat.
7. Cover it with an aluminum foil.
8. Prepare steamer first and bring it to a boil. Once boiling, you may now add the steamer rack with the pan. Steam for about 1 hour over low heat.
9. Once cooked. Remove the steamer rack and let it cool for 5 minutes. It’s time to turn it over on a plate.

Cooking notes: You can keep it in the freezer and reheat when ready to serve.

YOU MAY ALSO TRY OUR:

EVERLASTING NG MARIKINA