Sweet & spicy sun-dried tomato, basil & Parmesan sauce

SPAGHETTI PORCINI BALLS

SERVES 6

40 MINUTES

20g dried porcini mushrooms

2 x 250g packets of mixed cooked grains, ideally with punchy flavour 2 large free-range eggs

100g baby spinach

2 fresh red chillies

1 lemon

50-75g stale breadcrumbs olive oil

450g dried spaghetti

1 clove of garlic

1 bunch of fresh basil (30g) 20g Parmesan cheese, plus extra to serve

100g sun-dried tomatoes in oil

Cover the porcini with boiling water, leave for 5 minutes, then drain,

Hreserving the soaking water. Place the grains in a food processor with the porcini mushrooms, eggs, spinach and one of the chillies. Finely grate in the lemon zest, then add a pinch of sea salt and black pepper and whiz until sticky. Pulse in the breadcrumbs – packets of grains will vary, so use your common sense, adding just enough to bring the mixture together. With wet hands, roll into 30 little balls. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of oil into a large nonstick frying pan over a medium heat, then add the balls and fry for 10 minutes, or until golden all over, turning with care – you may need to work in batches (keep warm, covered with tinfoil, if needed).

Cook the pasta in a large pan of

Hboiling salted water according to the packet instructions, then drain, reserving a mugful of starchy cooking water. Meanwhile, give the food processor a quick rinse, then peel and drop in the garlic, pick in most of the basil leaves, finely grate in the Parmesan and add the sun-dried tomatoes with 2 tablespoons of oil from the jar. Add the remaining chilli (deseed if you like), then whiz to a paste. Pulse in the reserved porcini soaking water, then toss with the drained pasta, adding a splash of reserved cooking water to loosen, if needed. Fold through the porcini balls and finish with the reserved basil leaves, a generous

squeeze of lemon juice and a fine grating of Parmesan.

Serve with a lemony green salad for added crunch and zing. It’s a winner!

HI find I get better results from the grain packets that have been jazzed up a little bit, rather than the plain naked ones.

TO MAKE VEGETARIAN

Swap Parmesan for vegetarian hard cheese.

NUTRITION PER SERVING

628 kcal; 19.4g fat (3.8g saturated); 23g protein; 92.2g carbs; 6.1g sugars; 1.6g salt; 8.4g fibre