GREEN SPAGHETTI & MEATBALLS

Green spaghetti & meatballs image

Feed three adults or six kids with this spaghetti dinner that packs in two of your 5-a-day. Just the thing for children who are wary of greens

Provided by Cassie Best

Time 40m

Number Of Ingredients 10

Ingredients

500g lean pork mince
1 apple , grated
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tbsp oil
250g-300g wholemeal spaghetti (for children, use white spaghetti as wholemeal can be too filling)
200g baby spinach , plus extra to serve
1 ripe avocado , stoned and peeled, plus extra to serve
small bunch basil
100g frozen peas
25g parmesan , grated, plus extra to serve

Steps:

Mix the mince, apple and fennel seeds in a bowl. Divide and roll into 24 cherry tomato-sized balls. Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Cook the meatballs until golden brown and cooked through. Heat a large pan of water and cook the pasta following pack instructions.
Meanwhile, make the sauce. Set aside a handful of spinach, 4 tbsp peas and half the avocado for later. Pour hot water over the rest of the peas to defrost them, then drain well. Whizz the defrosted peas, spinach, avocado, basil and parmesan in a blender with 100ml pasta water, adding more if needed, to make sauce. Season well.
Add the reserved frozen peas to the pasta for the last min of cooking. Drain, saving some of the water, and tip the pasta into the meatball pan. Add the sauce and cook for a minute or 2 until hot, adding more seasoning or pasta water if you need to. Serve a salad of spinach and avocado on the side and top the pasta with extra parmesan for adults, if you like.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 720 calories, Fat 27 grams fat, SaturatedFat 8 grams saturated fat, Carbohydrate 59 grams carbohydrates, Sugar 5 grams sugar, Fiber 13 grams fiber, Protein 54 grams protein, Sodium 0.7 milligram of sodium