Meaty balls

Meatballs and pasta is one of those dishes lots of people like, but seem to think that it is a lot of effort to make, so don't bother. I was the same to be honest. This recipe is simple and although not the quickest meal to prepare, it does freeze well, so can be made in bulk in advance.

I prefer to serve this with white spaghetti, but in an effort to eat plenty of fiber, we usually eat with wholegrain pasta. To reduce the calories even further in this dish you could substitute half of the minced beef for Quorn mince as it is lower in fat 0.5g per 100g.

Ingredients:

Meatballs
500g lean Beef mince (or 250g beef & 250g quorn mince)
1 egg
2 beef Oxo
1 italian Oxo
1tsp basil
1tsp oregano
Pinch of salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Squirt of fry light

Sauce
2 chopped onions
1 chopped sweet red pepper
500g Passata
400g Tin chopped tomatoes
1 chopped clove garlic
1 chopped red chilli / ½ tsp chilli powder
4 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp granulated sweetener
½ tsp salt
Freshly ground black pepper

How to:

1. Mix all of the meatball ingredients together thoroughly.
2. Form in to approximately 24 small, firm balls. 
3. Dry fry in a pan till your balls are nicely browned, use a squirt or two of fry light if needed in the pan. 
4. Dry fry your onion, peppers, garlic and chilli until just soft. 
5. Next add the remaining sauce ingredients and bring to the boil. 
6. Cook the sauce for 2 minutes then add your balls back into to the pan. 
7. Simmer for a further 12-15 minutes. 
8. Serve over pasta with a little grated Parmesan cheese.

Serves  5 - 6