- Serves 3 (with 4 meatballs per person) - Ready in 50 minutes (or 40 minutes if you use shop-bought meatballs) -
Gather together…
Either, 12 shop-bought mini meatballs.
Or, to make your own turkey / chicken meatballs...
250g raw turkey mince (the turkey mince needs to have at least a 7% fat content, or else the meatballs will be too dry). If no turkey mince is available, buy diced chicken breast and blitz it (in 100g batches) in your blender - this will add extra time to the recipe as the clearing-up will take a while.
1/2 cup breadcrumbs (or use crushed cornflakes).
1/2 tsp chilli flakes (or any dried seasoning you like).
Big pinch of dried pepper.
1 egg.
To make the sauce...
1 tbsp rapeseed oil / olive oil.
1 onion, thinly sliced and diced (to save time day-to-day, I keep a big box of onions I've chopped ahead-of-time, in the freezer, so I throw in 2 handfuls of those).
2 garlic cloves (or 1 tsp lazy garlic).
1 bottle, circa 600ml, Passata (concentrated tomatoes).
400g (1 tin) chopped tomatoes.
1 pinch ground pepper.
Serve with…
300g wholewheat Linguine pasta, (100g per person).
1 tbsp oil (for the pasta water).
1 pinch salt (for the pasta water).
3 handfuls of finely grated cheese.
Green salad leaves.
Get cooking…
1. Pre-heat the oven to 200 C (fan 180 C) or gas 6.
2. If you are using shop-bought meatballs, see Step 4. Or, to make the meatballs; Combine the 400g turkey mince, the 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs, the 1/2 tsp of chilli flakes and the large pinch of ground pepper in a large bowl, mix well with a fork. Then add the beaten egg. Stir thoroughly.
3. Shape the turkey mince mixture into 12 meatballs, by hand (divide the mixture into half, then half again, then divide each of these portions into three, to make twelve.) Next roll each meatball in your palm until it is ball-shaped.
4. Place the meatballs on a non-stick / oil-greased baking tray and bake in the oven for 15 minutes (to brown but not fully cook).
5. Meanwhile, heat the 1 tbsp oil on the hob in a large, oven-proof, lidded pan / casserole dish. Add the chopped onion and gently fry for 2 minutes (or for a few minutes longer if you are using frozen onion pieces), then stir in the two (peeled and chopped) garlic cloves and fry for one more minute.
6. To the pan on the hob, add the bottle of passata, the tin of chopped tomatoes and a pinch of ground pepper. Stir gently.
7. Heat the tomato mixture on the hob and simmer gently, with the LID ON, until the meatballs' oven-time is up.
8. Remove the meatballs from the oven and use a fish-slice to add them to the tomato mixture.
9. Push the meatballs down below the surface of the sauce and then continue the cooking in the oven, with the LID ON, for 20 minutes.
10. Meanwhile boil a full kettle of water.
11. Cook the wholewheat linguine pasta (100g per person) in boiling water (with the 1 tbsp oil and a pinch of salt in) on the hob for 12-15 minutes (following the packet instructions) until al dente.
12. Drain the cooked pasta well and share it between the serving bowls. Top with the meatballs and sauce, then sprinkle the grated cheese on top.
13. Serve with a green, leafy salad.