Pork meatballs with vegetable ribbons

Cooking time: 20 minutes
Serves: 4 people
Cooking skill: easy

Ingredients

• 1 x 500g pack 5% fat pork mince or 1 x 300g pack prepared fresh meatballs
•  1 tablespoon vegetable oil
•  1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped
•  200ml low salt hot chicken stock
•  ¼ teaspoon chilli flakes (optional)
•  250g courgettes, sliced into ribbons using a vegetable peeler
•  250g butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and sliced into ribbons using a vegetable peeler
•  100g fat-free crème fraîche
•  Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
•  2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, grated
•  15g flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
•  10 slices ciabatta bread, toasted

Method

1. Heat half the oil in a large non-stick frying pan. Add the onion and cook for 4 minutes until soft and translucent; remove from the heat, transfer to a plate and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, while the onion is cooking, divide the pork mince into 24 pieces and roll into walnut-sized balls. Add remaining oil to the empty frying pan, heat to a medium heat, add the meatballs and cook for 12 minutes until golden brown.
3. Add the cooked onion, stock and the chilli flakes (if using) to the pan with the meatballs. Heat until the meatballs are cooked through, the juices run clear and the stock has reduced by half (about 2 minutes). Add the vegetables to the meatballs, stir gently and cook for 2 minutes, (or longer if you want softer vegetables) being careful not to break up the vegetables.
4. Add the crème fraîche, lemon zest and juice to the meatball mix. Toss gently to coat with the lemony crème fraîche. Season to taste and garnish with the Parmesan and parsley. Serve with the toasted ciabatta bread slices.

Serving Suggestion

If preferred replace the vegetable spaghetti with 400g dried wholewheat spaghetti or tagliatelle, cooked.