Recipe
For the 'meatballs':
1 onion, finely chopped
1/2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1tsp rosemary
2tsp oregano
1 large handful of fresh basil
olive oil
1 tin chickpeas, drained
1 courgette, finely grated
50g almonds, roughly chopped into small pieces
2tbsp soy sauce (I used GF)
100g oats (again, GF)
*optional* 1-2tbsp of nutritional yeast
For the tomato sauce:
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
2tbsp tomato puree
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
1 stock cube (I prefer organic ones by Kallo)
1/4-1/2tsp of brown sugar
salt & pepper
optional basil and oregano
Method
Meatballs:
Pre-heat the oven to 180C.
Heat some olive oil in a small pan on medium heat. Once hot, add the chopped onions and cook for 2-3 mins, stirring as they cook. You may need to turn the heat down a bit if they are sticking to the pan, or add a splash of water. Add 1tsp of the oregano and the rosemary. Cook for another 2-3 mins until very soft and just starting to brown.
Put the cooked onions into a food processor with a tin of drained chickpeas and blend to a paste. If you don't have a food processor, squish it all down with your hands or a masher.
Tip the blended mixture into a bowl. Add the basil, 1tsp oregano, garlic, grated courgette, chopped almonds, soy sauce, oats and nutritional yeast give it a stir with a spatula (or hands) until well combined. Season with salt and pepper.
Use the mixture to make your 'meatballs' and place on greaseproof paper on an oven safe tray.
Place the balls in the oven and bake for 30 mins.
Get making the sauce while these are in the oven and get some water on the heat for the pasta to cook as per instructions on the packet.
Tomato sauce:
Heat some oil in a pan, once hot, add the chopped onions and cook for 2-3 mins
Add the crushed garlic and cook for a further 2-3 mins until everything has softened.
Add the tin of chopped tomatoes, tomato puree and add some water to the empty tomato tin (about a third) to get all the juice on the sides out and add it to the pan. Crumble in the stock cube. Add some salt and pepper, herbs (if using) and a pinch of sugar (this is because tinned tomatoes often have quite an acidic taste and it needs balancing out). If using nutritional yeast, add it to the sauce now.
Cook for about 30 mins minimum on a low heat, stirring along the way. This is best left cooking for as long as possible as the flavours get much richer.
Once the sauce has been on for 30 minutes, drop the cooked 'meatballs' into the sauce and leave to simmer for 5 mins. You may need to add some more water if you want more sauce. I sometimes add a splash of tomato passata, but this is not necessary.
