Name: Meatballs with fennel & balsamic beans & courgette noodles
Prep time: 35 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 1 h 15 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 400g lean beef steak mince; 2 tsp dried oregano; 1 large egg; 8 garlic cloves 1 finely grated, the other sliced; 1-2 tbsp olive oil; 1 fennel bulb finely chopped, fronds reserved; 2 carrots finely chopped; 500g carton passata; 4 tbsp balsamic vinegar; 600ml reduced-salt vegetable bouillon; 1 tsp rapeseed oil; 1-2 large courgettes cut into noodles with a julienne peeler or spiralizer; 350g frozen soya beans thawed

Meatballs with fennel & balsamic beans & courgette noodles

400g lean beef steak
mince
2 tsp dried oregano
1 large egg
8 garlic cloves
1 finely grated, the other sliced
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1 fennel bulb
finely chopped, fronds reserved
2 carrots
finely chopped
500g carton passata
4 tbsp balsamic vinegar
600ml reduced-salt vegetable bouillon

For the courgette noodles

1 tsp rapeseed oil
1-2 large courgettes
cut into noodles with a julienne peeler or spiralizer
350g frozen soya beans
thawed

Method

step 1
Put the mince, oregano, egg and grated garlic in a bowl and grind in some black pepper. Mix together thoroughly and roll into 16 balls.
step 2
Heat the oil in a large sauté pan over a medium-high heat, add the meatballs and fry, moving them around the pan so that they brown all over – be careful as they’re quite delicate and you don’t want them to break up. Once brown, remove them from the pan. Reduce the heat slightly and add the fennel, carrots and sliced garlic to the pan and fry, stirring until they soften, about 5 mins.
step 3
Tip in the passata, balsamic vinegar and bouillon, stir well, then return the meatballs to the pan, cover and cook gently for 20-25 mins.
step 4
Meanwhile, heat the 1 tsp of oil in a non-stick pan and stir-fry the courgette with the beans to heat through and soften. Serve with the meatballs and scatter with any fennel fronds.