Quick and Nutritious Family Recipe: Fusilli and Meatballs with Hidden Veg Sauce
Pasta is a popular dish in our household, it is one of little man’s favourite meals. Not only pasta dishes are quick to make, they are also versatile, you can make pasta bake one day, spaghetti Bolognese the next, pasta and meatballs and so on.
Luckily little man is not a fussy eater, he loves his vegetables, but it doesn’t stop me from including as many vegetables as possible in our family meals.
This fusilli and meatballs recipe contains five different vegetables hiding in the tomato sauce, making it a nutritious and healthy dish. It is perfect to get your family eating more vegetables, without even realising.
Usually, I make meatballs from scratch, however I was recently introduced to Scan Meatballs and I was pleasantly surprised. I really like the fact they are pre-cooked, so they can be easily added to recipes – particularly handy for quick and tasty mid-week meals.
In case you haven’t tried Scan Authentic Swedish Meatballs, they are made in Sweden to a traditional family recipe, using 70% meat, potato, herbs, pepper and onion. They contain no artificial colours, flavours and preservatives, and can be eaten hot or cold. They were a success with the whole family, no wonder they are the Swedish mum’s best kept secret and Sweden’s number 1 meatballs brand!
Fusilli and Meatballs with Hidden Veg Sauce (serves 4)
Ingredients:
- 1tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 1 red pepper, chopped
- 1 yellow pepper, chopped
- 200g button mushroom, chopped
- 350g cherry tomato, chopped
- 400ml vegetable stock
- 2 tbsp tomato puree
- Handful of fresh basil leaves, torn
- 1 tsp oregano
- 350g fusilli
- 395g Scan Original Swedish Meatballs
- 1 mozzarella ball, diced
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Method:
1. Heat the olive oil in a large non-stick saucepan and sauté the onion and garlic for 2-3 minutes, until softened. Add the peppers, mushroom and tomato, cook for another 5 minutes.
2. Add the stock, tomato puree, fresh basil and oregano. Stir, bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Season to taste.
3. Cook the pasta following pack instructions. When it is cooked, drain in running cold water and transfer to a serving dish.
4. Transfer the sauce to a blender and blitz until smooth. Return to the heat and stir in the meatballs. Gently simmer for 10 minutes, until the meatballs are piping hot. Pour the meatballs sauce on top of the pasta, and serve with scattered mozzarella and torn basil leaves to taste.
The fusilli and meatballs was very popular, and little man has already asked when we are making it again. Hubby mentioned he really enjoyed the meatballs and their authentic Swedish taste. We will certainly be trying other recipes using Scan Authentic Swedish Meatballs and using the recipes on the website for inspiration.
Scan Original Swedish Meatballs are available in Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Asda and Ocado, in two convenient pack sizes: 230g, RRP £2.00 (serves 2) and 395g, RRP £3.00 (serves 4).
This post has been written in collaboration with Scan Swedish Meatballs, however the opinions expressed in this post are honest and my own.