When the mercury drops we tend to crave more comfort food – warm, tasty, energy-dense sustenance to get us through those long winter nights.
We also tend to exercise less, which is a recipe for weight-gain disaster. This winter, choose healthier ingredients for those common winter comfort foods to keep the winter weight gain at bay. This zucchini pasta with meatballs recipe is a great option!
Ingredients
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 slice whole-wheat bread
- ⅓ cup chicken stock
- 1 free-range egg, beaten
- 500g ostrich mince
- Flour, for coating
- 1 can tomatoes
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- ½ cup chicken stock
- Handful of Italian spices
- 2 cloves garlic
- Italian parsley, chopped, to garnish
- 2 zucchinis, peeled
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ¼ cup water
- Salt and ground black pepper to taste
Spice it up! Add some heat and flavour with spices such as ginger, cinnamon, cayenne, cumin, curry, allspice and cloves. Ginger can also be added to other dishes and make a great addition to juices and smoothies.
Method
- Pre-heat the oven to 190°C.
- In a large saucepan over a low heat, gently soften the onion in the oil. Stir in the garlic.
- Crumble the bread and soak it in the vegetable stock. Mash the bread together and set to the side.
- Mix together the egg, onion and garlic, and mince. Season to taste.
- Make 10-12 golf ball-sized meat balls from the mixture. Lightly dust with flour.
- For the sauce, mix together the can of tomatoes, tomato paste, ½ cup chicken stock and Italian spices.
- Place the meat balls in an oiled baking pan, cover with the sauce and bake for 30 minutes or until just cooked and nicely coloured.
- Cut the zucchini into thin slices using a vegetable peeler. Cut the zucchini slices into thinner strips to resemble spaghetti.
- In a medium-sized pot over a medium heat, cook the zucchini in some olive oil for about a minute, then add the water and cook until the zucchini is soft (5 to 7 minutes).
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Toss together with the meat balls and serve.
Author: Pedro van Gaalen
When he’s not writing about sport or health and fitness, Pedro is probably out training for his next marathon or ultra-marathon. He’s worked as a fitness professional and as a marketing and comms expert. He now combines his passions in his role as managing editor at Fitness magazine.
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