I’m always on a mission to include one of my favourite meals, spaghetti and meatballs, in new ways in my life. Today I’ve gone in a an odd but crazily delicious direction. Just trust me a little here and read on.

So the ‘meatballs’ are actually mostly lentils making them a great source of fibre and protein and well, vegetarian, so this is a great meat free meal (yay for the Environment!). I go the idea from the minimalist baker and then thought, but what if they were Asian flavoured rather than Italian? I filled them with fragrant things like I would normally put in my pork and prawn dumplings and they are so delicious! Actually a little meaty and full of flavour, plus they crispy up really well!

The coconut curry sauce and noodles make for the perfect meal. Especially with a side serving of asian slaw to add a little more veg. Give these a go if you’re looking for filling vegetarian food that’s full of flavour!

Serves 4

Ingredients

Meatballs

1.5 cups cooked green lentils

1/2 cup flour

1/4 cup coriander root finely diced

1/4 cup finely sliced spring onion

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 tsp grated ginger

1 tsp chilli paste

1 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp black vinegar

1/4 tsp sesame oil

1-3 Tbs coconut Oil to cook in

Curry noodles

400g rice noodles, cooked according to directions.

1.5 Tbs curry paste

1 can coconut milk

Juice of 1/2 a lime

1/2 tsp soy sauce

1/2 cup dry roasted peanuts

1/3 cup corainder leaves

1/4 cup spring onions finely sliced

Directions

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius. Line a baking tray with parchment paper

Place green lentils (cold) and all other meatball ingredients in a food processor and pulse to combine. You want there to still be some texture and the mixture to be dough like enough that you can take spoonfuls from it and it will hold it’s shape. Feel free to add a little more flour to dry it out, but you don’t want it dry!

Heat a heavy based large fry pan on high to medium heat. Add oil and once hot add teaspoons of meat ball mixture. Do not over crowd the pan, turning the meatballs can be delicate and if you have enough room you can use the side of the pan to help you flip them and create a rounder shape.

Once browned on two sides transfer meatballs to the preheated oven. Repeat until you’ve used all the mixture. Cook for a further 30 minutes.

Meanwhile add curry paste to a medium heavy based sauce pan, fry for  few minutes until fragrant, add coconut milk and bring to the boil then turn down to a simmer and cok for 5 minutes. Add lime juice and soy and check seasoning.

Add 1/3-1/2 a cup of curry sauce to your cooked, warm noodles and stir to coat. Add meatballs to remaining sauce in the span and stir gently to coat, allow to simmer for a few minutes. Divide noodles among plates and serve with meatballs on top then drizzle in any remaining curry sauce. Sprinkle the peanuts, coriander and spring onion over the top.

HH. x