Meatballs with fennel & balsamic beans & courgette noodles

• lean beef steak↗400g g

  mince

• dried oregano↗2 tsp tsp
• large egg↗1
• garlic cloves↗8

  1 finely grated, the other sliced

• olive oil↗1-2 tbsp tbsp
• fennel bulb↗1

  finely chopped, fronds reserved

• carrots↗2

  finely chopped

• passata↗500g carton g
• balsamic vinegar↗4 tbsp tbsp
• reduced-salt vegetable bouillon↗600ml ml
• rapeseed oil↗1 tsp tsp
• courgettes↗1-2 large

  cut into noodles with a julienne peeler or spiralizer

• frozen soya beans↗350g g

  thawed

Step-by-step instructions

1. 1

   Put the mince, oregano, egg and grated garlic in a bowl and grind in some black pepper. Mix together thoroughly and roll into 16 balls.

2. 2

   Heat the oil in a large sauté pan over a medium-high heat, add the meatballs and fry, moving them around the pan so that they brown all over – be careful as they’re quite delicate and you don’t want them to break up. Once brown, remove them from the pan. Reduce the heat slightly and add the fennel, carrots and sliced garlic to the pan and fry, stirring until they soften, about 5 mins.

3. 3

   Tip in the passata, balsamic vinegar and bouillon, stir well, then return the meatballs to the pan, cover and cook gently for 20-25 mins.

4. 4

   Meanwhile, heat the 1 tsp of oil in a non-stick pan and stir-fry the courgette with the beans to heat through and soften. Serve with the meatballs and scatter with any fennel fronds.