Who doesn’t like pasta and meatballs? For years I’ve been using Nigella Lawson’s recipe from How to Eat and they’re pretty good. I had people coming for dinner and minced turkey in the fridge but not enough to make enough meatballs for three people. I was in the mood to experiment and Jack Monroe, used white beans to pad hers out a bit in A Girl Called Jack, these became bung it all in meatballs! They got a thumbs up from my guests so here they are.

What

For the meatballs

1 onion finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, mince

Olive oil

450g turkey mince

1 can chickpeas (if you don’t use cans 140g cooked chickpeas)

1 egg

4 defrosted blocks of spinach (squeeze as much water out as you can)

70g feta

2 teaspoons mixed herbs (I have a mix of oregano, parsley and basil but use just one if that’s what you have)

plain flour (I’m guessing that I used about 1/4 of a cup, you’re going to coat the meatballs in it so you may use more or less.)

for the sauce

2 14oz tins plum tomatoes (or one 28oz tin if that’s how you work)

500g passata

1 tablespoon

How

1) Add about a tablespoon of olive oil to a frying pan and over a low heat, gently fry the onion and garlic until cooked but not coloured, about 5 minutes.

2) Put the flour on a plate and set aside.

3) Add the cooked onions and garlic, turkey, chickpeas, egg, spinach, feta and herbs to a large bowl and mix together. (I use my hands)

4) Roll the mixture into walnut sized balls and roll them in the flour.

5) Add about a tablespoon of oil to a large pan, and in batches, brown the meatballs. Adding more oil as you go if required.6) Put all the browned meatballs back in the pan and add the tomatoes, passata and balsamic vinegar.

7) Stir and leave to simmer over a medium to low heat until the sauce has thickened up and the meatballs are cooked through (and your hob is pretty much covered in tomato sauce and needs a really good clean!). At least an hour although you can go longer at 2 hours, the meatballs will start to break up but that’s not necessarily a bad thing!

8) Serve with the pasta of your choice.