Eating healthily doesn’t mean swapping hearty dinners for salads every night. With this lighter spaghetti and meatballs recipe we found on the BBC Good Food website, you will be able to have this delicious and classic dish for dinner without worrying about the calories.
This recipe serves 4 and is 473 kcal per serving.
You will need:
- 1 tsp rapeseed oil
- 280g spaghetti
For the meatballs:
- 200g green lentils (well drained)
- 250g lean minced pork (max 8% fat)
- ½ tsp finely chopped rosemary
- ½ tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
For the sauce:
- 1 tbsp rapeseed oil
- 2 shallots, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 500g cherry tomatoes, preferably on the vine, halved
- 2 tsp tomato puree
- Pinch of chilli flakes
- 2 tbsp chopped oregano, plus a few chopped leaves to garnish
Method:
- Heat the oven to 200C/ 180C fan/ gas mark 6.
- Line a baking sheet with foil and brush with 1 tsp oil.
- Mash the lentils in a bowl with the back of a fork to break them down a bit, but not completely. Then, stir in the pork, rosemary, mustard, garlic and some pepper to season and then mix well with the fork to distribute the lentils evenly.
- Divide the mixture into 4 and form each quarter into 5 small balls, to give 20 in total. Squeeze the mixture together well as you shape it.
- Lay the meatballs on the foil covered baking sheet and roll them around in the oil to coat them all over and bake for 15 mins until they are cooking and lightly browned.
- Remove them from the oven (but leave the oven on!) and set them aside.
- While the meatballs are cooking, heat 2 tsp of oil for the sauce in a large non-stick frying pan. Tip in the shallots and garlic, and fry on a medium heat for 3-4 minuets until they have softened and tinged brown.
- Pour in the remaining 1 tsp oil and lay the tomatoes in the pan so most of them are cut-side down (to help release the juices). Raise the heat and fry them for 3-4 minuets or until the tomatoes are starting to soften and release their juices.
- Pout in 125-150ml of water so it all bubbles and gently mix in the tomato puree.
- Lower the heat and simmer for 2 minuets to create a juicy, chunky sauce. Season with the chilli flakes, oregano, pepper and a pinch of salt, and give it a quick stir, adding a drop more water if needed. You want the sauce thick enough to coat the meatballs.
- Pour the sauce into a casserole dish and add the meatballs. Spoon the sauce over them to coat and cover with foil and bake for 10 minuets while you cook the spaghetti.
- Boil a large saucepan of water. Add the spaghetti, stir and bring back to the boil. Cook for 10-12 minuets, or following the pack instructions. Drain well and season with pepper.
- Serve the spaghetti with the meatballs, sauce and a light sprinkling of oregano to enjoy your healthy, lighter dinner.
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