Meat Free Balls with Tomato Sauce

“This is a simple recipe for vegan meat free balls in tomato sauce. The balls can be batch-cooked as they freeze really well. This is a great family-friendly and budget-friendly meal.”

Prep time - 40 minutes

Cook time - 30 minutes

Difficulty - Easy

Serves / makes - 2-3 portions

Ingredients

For the meatballs -

Sunflower oil

200g onions, roughly chopped

20g garlic, roughly chopped

200g mushrooms, roughly chopped

2t yeast spread (aka marmite, vegemite)

4t stock powder

Salt (optional)

70g porridge oats

70g gram flour (or plain flour)

For the sauce -

Sunflower oil

1 onion, around 150g, finely chopped

2 tins chopped tomatoes

1t yeast spread

2t stock powder

Salt, to taste

200-300g spaghetti, cooked according to packet instructions

Equipment

Frying pan

Large bowl

Hand blender or food processor

Baking tray

Large sauce pan

Method

Heat your oven to 200c/400f/GM6.
Heat the oil in a frying pan, once it is hot add the roughly chopped onions. Allow them to cook on a medium heat for around 10 minutes until they are translucent. Add the garlic and mushrooms, mix well and allow them to cook for 5-10 minutes until the mushrooms are browned.
Put the vegetables into a bowl, blend until smooth. Add the yeast spread, stock powder and salt. Mix in well.
Add the oats and flour to the bow, mix in well. Allow the mixture to rest for around 5-10 minutes until it has firmed up enough to make into balls. Roll the mixture into 8-10 balls. The mixture will still be quite wet so wet your hands and roll the balls gently between your hands.
Put a little oil on the baking tray, place the balls in the oil. Bake for around 15 minutes until they are cooked through. You can turn them over halfway through the cooking process so that they brown on both sides.
Whilst the balls are baking make the tomato sauce. Heat the oil in a frying pan, once it is hot add the finely chopped onions. Allow them to cook on a medium heat for around 10 minutes until they are translucent. Add the tomatoes, yeast spread and salt. Simmer the sauce for 20-30 minutes on a medium heat until the raw taste of the tomatoes has gone and the sauce has thickened.
Add the balls to the sauce, mix them in gently, add cooked spaghetti, mix again and serve immediately.