An amazing (and very green) alternative to the classic spaghetti and meatballs. Pretty simple and great if you have a little bit of time for cooking… can be done on a week night with a bit of meatball-rolling practise.
Serves 4
What you need…
400g pork mince
1 small onion grated or finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
zest ½ lemon
50g grated Parmesan
olive oil
1 leek, chopped
400g wholewheat spaghetti
150ml half-fat creme fraiche or yoghurt
200g fresh or frozen peas
2 handfuls of spinach
1 tsp dried chilli flakes (optional)
fresh parsley , roughly chopped
What you do…
- Combine the mince, onion, garlic and lemon zest with half the parmesan and some seasoning, then shape into small bite-size meatballs.
- Heat the oil in a non-stick pan and gently cook the meatballs for 10-12 mins until golden. You can do this in the oven if you prefer in a shallow tin with a drizzle of olive oil.
- Set aside the meat balls and gently cook the chopped leek in some olive oil until softened. Then add the meatballs back into the pan.
- Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti for 10-12 mins in some salted water. Before you drain the pasta, reserve a mugful of the pasta water.
- Add the creme fraiche/yoghurt and half the pasta water to the meatballs, scraping the bottom of the pan to get all the sticky bits off.
- Simmer until the sauce has thickened and the meatballs are cooked through.
- Add the peas and spinach, cook for a further 2 mins, then add the parsley and if you fancy a kick – a tsp of dried chilli flakes.
- Stir through the pasta. If needed, add a splash more pasta water to the sauce.
- Sprinkle over the remaining Parmesan and some more freshly chopped parsley to serve. (Also nice with some freshly steamed broccoli on the side.)
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