SPEGGY MERBLES

What are "Speggy Merbles" I hear you cry? Well that's our affectionate nickname for spaghetti and meatballs of course. We love Quorn meatballs in our house and frying them up with some garlic, onions and roasted red peppers before simmering them in a herby tomato sauce is one of the simplest and quickest mid-meek meals to rustle up when you can't be bothered spending hours in the kitchen. Those merbles and sauce have to be served with a good helping of spaghetti though. Having merbles without the speggy is quite frankly; criminal! 

I love Quorn meatballs but you can of course use actual meaty meatballs in this recipe if you wish but just make sure the mince is properly cooked before you serve. 

With spaghetti and meatballs, I find that simple works best as the meatballs can be quite filling hence why there are not many vegetables in my sauce other then the onion and red peppers. The recipe below will make enough for two people but if you want to bulk it out to feed a few more people feel free to add in some extra vegetables like carrots, broccoli or courgettes. 

You can also add some chili if you want to give the sauce a bit of kick but I just like to let the garlic and basil be the stars in this dish. They are the perfect flavour partnership for the tomato sauce but experimentation is always fun in the kitchen so give my recipe below a whirl and then tinker around with it to suit your tastes. Speggy Merbles here we come; 

Spaghetti And Meatballs

300g Quorn Meatballs

1 Peeled And Chopped Onion

1 Grated Garlic Clove

2 Chopped Roasted Red Peppers

400g Tin Of Chopped Tomatoes

1 Tbsp Dried Basil

Salt And Pepper To Season

200g Spaghetti

1. Begin by placing a large pan of water onto one ring of your hob and bring to a simmer whilst warming up a large lightly oiled frying pan on a second ring of the hob until the oil is hot.
2. Chuck the meatballs, onion and garlic clove into the oiled frying pan and fry until the onions are beginning to soften. Keep turning the meatball in the pan so that they go slightly brown all over.
3. Add in the roasted red peppers and fry for a minute before tipping in the chopped tomatoes and the dried basil. Seasonwith salt and pepper, give everything a good stir together and then bring the pan to a simmer for 10-15 minutes until the sauce has reduced.
4. Whilst the sauce reduces, add some salt to the large pan of simmering water, add in the spaghetti and simmer for 12 minutes or to the time on the packet instructions. 
5. Once both the sauce and the spaghetti are ready, quickly drain the spaghetti in a colander to remove the bulk of water and tip the still slightly wet spaghetti into the pan with the meatballs and sauce and toss everything together so the spaghetti is coated in the sauce.

With the spaghetti covered in all the sauce it's time to dish up. Get some tongs or one of those spaghetti spoon things and dish out the pasta between a couple of plates and dollop the meatballs on top. Pour over any remaining tomato sauce left in the pan, grab a fork and get stuck in. The meatballs will of sucked up some of that delicious garlic and herb sauce making them super plump and moist whilst the red peppers in there give the whole dish a slight sweet edge. This is such a simple dish to  whip up after a hard day in work as it doesn't use too many ingredients but is packed with flavour hugs. I love "Speggy Merbles" and I know you will too!