Veggie meatballs with tomato courgetti
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Veggie meatballs with tomato courgetti

By Sara Buenfeld

Spiralize courgettes to make this healthier, gluten-free 'pasta' dish. The vegetarian meatballs use ground almonds instead of breadcrumbs to increase the protein

  • Prep:15 mins
    Cook:15 mins
  • Serves 2
  • Easy

Nutrition per serving

  • kcal 258
  • fat 11g
  • saturates 1g
  • carbs 24g
  • sugars 12g
  • fibre 9g
  • protein 12g
  • salt 0.7g

Ingredients

  • 3 garlic cloves
  • 2 tsp rapeseed oil, plus extra for greasing
  • 1 small onion, very finely chopped
  • 2 tsp balsamic vinegar
  • 100g canned red kidney beans
  • 1 tbsp beaten egg
  • 1 tsp tomato purée
  • 1 heaped tsp chilli powder
  • ½ tsp ground coriander
  • 15g ground almonds
  • 40g cooked sweetcorn
  • 2 tsp chopped thyme leaves
  • 2 large or 3 normal tomatoes, chopped
  • 1 tsp tomato purée
  • 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
  • 2 courgettes cut into 'noodles' with a spiralizer, julienne peeler, or by hand

Method

  1. Finely chop the garlic. Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the onion, stirring frequently, for 8 mins. Stir in the balsamic vinegar and cook for 2 mins more. Meanwhile, put the beans in a bowl with the egg, tomato purée and spices, and mash until smooth. Stir in the almonds and sweetcorn with the thyme, a third of the chopped garlic and the balsamic onions. Mix well and shape into about 8 balls the size of a walnut, and place on a baking tray lined with oiled baking parchment.

  2. Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7 and bake the veggie meatballs for 15 mins until firm. Meanwhile, put the tomatoes, tomato purée and balsamic vinegar in a pan and cook with 2-3 tbsp water until pulpy, then stir in the remaining garlic and courgetti. Turn off the heat as you want to warm the noodles rather than cook them. Serve with the veggie meatballs.

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