Turkey Meatballs in Tomato Sauce for the Freezer

• 1kgturkey thigh mince
• 2courgettes, coarsely grated and squeezed dry
• 80gbreadcrumbs
• 2eggs
• 60gParmesan, finely grated
• 3garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 tspdried oregano
• 1 tspfennel seeds, crushed
• 2 tbspolive oil
• fine salt
• black pepper
• 2 tbspolive oil
• 1onion, finely chopped
• 4garlic cloves, sliced
• 2 x 700gbottles passata
• 30gbasil, leaves torn
• 1 tspsugar
• 600gspaghetti, for both four-person meals
• 200gmixed salad leaves, for both meals

Method

1. 1Heat the oven to 200C fan and line two baking trays. Mix the turkey, courgette, breadcrumbs, eggs, Parmesan, crushed garlic, oregano, fennel seeds, 2 teaspoons of salt and plenty of pepper with your hands until just combined. Overworking makes them dense.
2. 2Roll into 40 evenly sized meatballs, wetting your hands so the mix does not stick. Spread over the trays, drizzle with the 2 tablespoons of olive oil and bake for 18 minutes until browned, steaming hot at the centre and with no pink remaining.
3. 3While they bake, heat the other 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pan over a medium heat. Cook the onion with a pinch of salt for 6 minutes until soft, then the sliced garlic for a minute. Pour in the passata, add the sugar and a teaspoon of salt and simmer for 15 minutes until slightly thickened.
4. 4Add the meatballs to the sauce with any juices from the trays and simmer for 5 minutes so they take on the flavour. Stir in the basil and taste for salt.
5. 5The ingredients cover two meals for four. For tonight, cook half the spaghetti (300g) in salted boiling water until just tender and toss with 20 meatballs and half the sauce. Serve with half the salad leaves (100g).
6. 6Cool the remaining meatballs in their sauce and freeze in portions of five for up to 3 months. Reheat from frozen in a covered pan over a low heat with a splash of water, stirring, until piping hot throughout. For the second meal, cook the remaining 300g spaghetti fresh and serve with 100g fresh salad leaves; buy these leaves when you plan to eat the frozen portions.

Per serving

kcal

695

protein

44g

fibre

7.4g

carbs

80.9g

fat

22.2g