We make the vegetarian meatballs ourselves, but it stays a quick meal that leaves you wanting more.

While this is another recipe that is relatively new in my collection, it is a favourite in our family. Without exception, my boyfriend commented the past three times I made this dish that “this is exactly what he was craving” and ”I was hoping you would say we’re having this dish today”. Seeing as he liked it so much, I made sure to teach him how to make the vegetarian meatballs himself. Team work.

Like so many of the recipes in my collection, this dish wasn’t originally a vegetarian meal. I took it from this Dutch recipe and made it my own; an easy task with modern meat replacements!

Having said that, you will need to be mindful of the type of meat replacement you use in this dish. As I mentioned in the introduction to meat replacements, there are two types of vegetarian mince meat. Once of them is already crisp and looks it has been pan-fried already, like the one we used in our easy cottage pie. The second type which we used in this recipe is the one that looks more like ’real’ meat which you still need to cook and can fold into meatballs.

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Tagliatelle with meatballs

15 minutes preparation + 15 minutes cooking — serves 2

• 500grams broccoli
• 220grams tagliatelle
• 1 pack of Meatless Farm Plant Based Mince or similar vegetarian mince meat
• 350-400grams of pasta sauce tomato and chili
• 25grams grated cheese
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 0.5 tablespoon dried basil
• Black pepper
• Salt
• Oil

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.
2. Cut the broccoli into bite-sized pieces. In addition to the broccoli florets, you can also eat the broccoli stem; peel the hard outside and cut the stem into pieces about 2cm long and 0.5cm thick.
3. Toss the broccoli with the olive oil and some seasoning in a roasting tin.
4. Roast in the oven for about 15 minutes. Set aside once the broccoli is cooked and crispy.

5. Mix the vegetarian mince meat with the grated cheese, 0.5 tablespoon black pepper and 0.5 tablespoon dried basil. Knead together.
6. Roll the meatballs by hand — we usually make around eight small- to medium sized ones.
7. Heat oil in a pan. Add the meatballs and cook for c. 8-10 minutes on medium heat. Turn them regularly so they brown evenly on all sides.

8. While the meatballs are cooking, bring a pot of salted water to the boil.
9. Add the tagliatelle to the boiling water and cook for 8-10 minutes (or longer/shorter depending on whether you are using fresh tagliatelle and what the instructions on the pack state).
10. Add the pasta sauce once the meatballs are cooked and brown each side. Cover with a lid and simmer for another 3 minutes. Note: depending on how hot your pan is, the sauce may splash when you add it. I often take the pan off the heat for a minute before adding the sauce.
11. Serve the tagliatelle with the meatballs in pasta sauce and with the broccoli as a side dish.

Enjoy your meal!

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Leave a comment below if you made this recipe, and let me know what you think. Tips and feedback to improve the recipe are always welcome too!