This is a great mid week meal, as is quick and easy to prepare and cook. I've also included some top tips of how to make different versions of this recipe.
Top tips
Instead of adding fresh herbs, try adding fresh chilli and/BBQ sauce, a tablespoon of green or red pesto, or a few drops of Tabasco sauce to create a different flavour to your sauce
Don't worry if you haven't got fresh herbs to hand, you can use dry herbs if need be
I also had half a can of chickpeas in the fridge that needed using up, so have added these to this recipe. You could add any type of beans to this dish, especially if opting for a spicy version. However not using any beans will also work well.
I like to chop my veg up nice and chunky for this dish, as the meatballs don't take up much room, so you have lots of sauce. I think that with chunky veg and beans it helps bulk out the sauce so you can make it got further (to serve more people) or can be used for left overs the next day.
I've used a jar of Morrison's spicy vegetable pasta sauce, but you can alternatively use a jar of passata or any variety of chopped tomatoes with garlic or basil etc..
Serves: 4 persons
Prep and cook time:30 mins
What you will need....
12 Meatballs (add more if you want to serve for more persons)
1 small red pepper chopped (chunky)
1 small green pepper chopped (chunky)
1 small yellow pepper chopped (chunky)
1 courgette chopped (chunky cubes)
2/3 large variety mushrooms chopped (chunky)
3 tomatoes cored and loosely chopped
1/2 large can of chickpeas
Large handful of fresh basil chopped
Handful of fresh oregano chopped
1 large jar of passata/pasta sauce any variety or chopped tomatoes
Tagliatelle (allow roughly 50gm of uncooked per person)
Spray oil
Seasoning
What you will need to do...
- Prepare all your veg by chopping nice and chunky
- Brown onions (using spray oil) in a pan over a mid to high heat on the hob
- Place the meatballs in the pan and keep turning until also brown all over
- Add your chopped veg and oregano to pan and stir for 4-5 mins until start to soften, turning down the heat slightly so they don't burn
- Pour over you sauce and stir, season to taste
- If adding beans, place in pan at this stage, then cover with lid and allow to cook whilst you prepare your tagliatelle
- Cook your tagliatelle according to instructions on the packet
- Just before serving stir in fresh basil and serve on bed of cooked pasta
