Meatballs & Macaroni

 Chicken meatballs & pasta in sauce

These meatballs are so light and delicious, and the creamy leek sauce with pasta makes a super easy one-pot supper dish.

Serves 4

Ingredients

500g chicken mince

175 ricotta

50g dried breadcrumbs (I used Sainsburys Inspired to Cook Smoky Chilli breadcrumbs or you could use Mediterranean-style crumbs)

400g leeks, finely sliced

2 cloves garlic, sliced

25g pack basil, leaves and stalks separated and roughly chopped

2 tbsp plain flour

400g can cherry tomatoes (Mutti Polpa)

175 ml chicken stock

160g macaroni

Here's what you do:

In a bowl mix the mince with 100g of the ricotta and the breadcrumbs.  Shape into 20 balls.  (If you use a small dessert spoon as a measure and keep your hands wet the mix doesn't stick to your hands and it's much easier to roll into neat balls!). 

Heat a deep wide-based pan with 1 tbsp olive oil and add meatballs and fry for 3-4 minutes turning them after a couple of minutes so they are golden on all sides.  Do this in small batches and store on a plate.

Add another tbsp of olive oil to the pan and add the leeks, garlic and chopped basil stalks.  Cook till soft.  Add the flour and stir so it is absorbed into the leek mix.  

Add the chicken stock stirring to mix and bring back to the boil.

Add the macaroni and meatballs, reduce the heat to a simmer and leave to cook for 10-12 mins until the pasta is soft and the meatballs are cooked through.  

Scatter the basil leaves and remaining ricotta over the dish and serve.  

This reheats well the next day, just add a bit of milk or water or stock to loosen it as you reheat.