This is a fabulously easy and tasty little dish, economical on Smartpoints and calories too!
I've made my own meatballs by skinning Heck chicken sausages, then mixing in some mustard and garlic to boost the flavours...then some finely ground porridge oats to add texture and firmness to these tasty morsels. A heap of courgetti spaghetti, some tomato puree and a light sprinkling of parmesan to finish and you'll be in Italian heaven!
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Now, I know that Heck have a huge range of products; sausages, burgers, meatballs etc....but I've never seen the full range in a supermarket near me....so there's no reason why we can't make our own meatballs out of their magically low fat/gluten-free chicken sausages. Obviously, feel free to make this dish from any sausages you like-just recalculate your smartpoints/calories accordingly.
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This recipe works out to 5sp/approx.175kcal per portion
YOU WILL NEED : (Serves 2)
4 Heck chicken Italia sausages
(or equivalent of your choice)
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons garlic puree
20g porridge oats
1 teaspoon avocado/olive oil
4 medium courgettes, spiralised/julienned
2 tablespoons tomato puree
(try the flavoured one with basil or chilli)
1 teaspoon dried mixed herbs
2 teaspoons Parmesan cheese, grated
Freshly ground black pepper
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Cut the end off the sausages and squeeze the sausage meat into a mixing bowl.
Discard the skins.
Add the garlic puree and Dijon mustard to the mixture.
Blitz the porridge oats in a small food processor and add to the sausage mixture. This adds some texture and makes it much easier to form into meatballs-otherwise they are very slippery!
Blend everything very well together using a fork.
Using a teaspoon measure for accuracy, form tiny meatballs-roll them into shape in the palm of your hands. This recipe should make around 8-9 meatballs per portion, so 16-18 in total.
Heat up the oil in a large pan and fry the meatballs, turning regularly for 10-15 minutes.
The aim is for a lovely crispy golden coating on all sides.
Once the meatballs are almost cooked, pile the courgette strips on top of the meatballs-all in the same pan. I'm lucky enough to have a spiralizer, but you can use an inexpensive julienne peeler to achieve lovely thin strips of courgette instead.
(You can even buy courgetti spaghetti in some supermarkets)
The heat from the pan will start to cook and soften the courgette and some water will be released from it which will form the basis of your sauce...after a couple of minutes, add the tomato puree and the dried herbs.
Stir gently, blending the tomato puree into the courgette liquid and mix everything together.
The sauce will form-it's quite liquidy but I like it like this. You can always pour some of the excess water off before you add the tomato puree if you prefer it a bit thicker.
Once everything is piping hot and the meatballs are cooked right through, serve into 2 dishes. Share the meatballs equally between the 2 portions and sprinkle with grated Parmesan for the perfect Italian finish. A good grind of black pepper wouldn't go amiss either.
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Meatball magic on a plate!
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TIPS
Try ringing the changes by adding chopped spring onion or fresh herbs such as basil or coriander into the sausage meat.
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Try substituting the tomato puree
for pesto sauce
(This adds an extra 1sp/75kcal per portion)
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You could add 20g (raw weight) vermicelli per person to make this dish even more filling.
This adds an extra 2sp/60kcal per portion.
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