Almost 2 weeks into being a pescatarian for January, and it’s going well so far 😊 last week we made the most delicious meatless meatballs, honestly better than any beef ones I’ve ever made! Would highly recommend giving them a go.
This recipe serves 2 (10 meatballs in total) and you’ll need to create the meatball mix the night beforehand.
Ingredients
For the meatballs
- 250g chestnut mushrooms, super finely diced
- 1/2 tablespoon of butter/ flora
- 1 finely chopped red onion
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/4 cup rolled oats
- 3 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup of breadcrumbs
- 2 tbsp finely chopped parsley
- 1 egg
- 1/4 tsp dried oregano
For the sauce
- Tin of chopped tomatoes
- 2 tbsp tomato puree
- Small handful of fresh basil, chopped
- 1/2 tsp Worcester sauce
- 1/4 tsp red wine vinegar (or to taste)
- Red onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 veg stock cube
- Grated cheese for topping
Method
- Start by making the meatballs (the night before). In a skillet or large frying pan fry off the mushrooms at medium heat, adding a pinch of salt. Cook for 10minutes until all the water has evaporated.
- Then add butter to the pan and cook for a further 5 mins until golden brown.
- Add the onion to the mushrooms, cook for another 5 mins. The add the garlic and cook for 1 min.
- Transfer the mushroom mixture into a mixing bowl to cool
- Once cooled, mix in the oats, then add the breadcrumbs, parsley, half a beaten egg, and Parmesan, salt, pepper and oregano. Mix together with a fork
- Then add the remaining half an egg and mix to combine. The mixture should loosely hold together when pressed
- Cover and refrigerate overnight
- The next day, use your hands to crest balls from the mixture, 10 in total and place on a lined baking sheet
- Cook the meatballs for 15-20 minutes at 200 degrees C until golden
- Meanwhile, make the sauce by frying onions and garlic in a skillet/ frying pan. When tender, add the tinned tomatoes, tomato puree, stock cube, Worcestershire sauce. And leave to simmer for 10-15 minutes
- Then mix basil and red wine vinegar into the tomato sauce and adjust seasoning
- Once the meatballs are golden, remove from the oven and add them to the sauce in a single layer.
- Cover the pan with foil, or a lid if you have one, and cook gently for 15 minutes. This is also when you want to start cooking your dried pasta – I’d recommend tagliatelle, we used homemade fresh pasta but dried will work well too!
- When you have 5 minutes to go, sprinkle the grated cheese over the top of the meatballs and replace the foil/ lid to allow the cheese to melt
- Now you’re ready to plate up! Top each bowl of spaghetti with the sauce and 5 meatballs and sprinkle with a bit of the leftover chopped basil
Bon appetit! 😋🍅🍝
Say Cheese! 