In the summer months we normally think of salads, BBQs and strawberries with cream as our main nutritional sources; however there are plenty of other delicious meals that make use of seasonal vegetables – tomatoes in this case – that are simple to make without being too heavy. This spaghetti and meatballs recipe is perfect to make for when you have guests round en masse, so would act as a good indoor eating substitute for a BBQ when we suffer those unexpected yet frequent rain showers.

The recipe comfortably serves 4 with side salads alongside. More importantly though, if you need to cook for more, when you multiply up the recipe quantities you’ll find that you won’t be multiplying up the preparation time, so will still be able to spend the majority of your dinner socialising with your guests.

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 80g breadcrumbs
• 2 tbsp milk
• 500g British pork mince (5% fat)
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 1 tsp chilli flakes
• 2 large garlic clove – crushed
• 300g ruby jewel tomatoes (or anything off the vine if you can’t get these)
• 100g queen green olives500ml chicken stock
• 500g spaghetti
• 25g basil – freshly shredded
• handful of freshly grated parmesan
• Olive oil
• Salt
• Freshly ground pepper

Recipe:

1. Fill a saucepan with water and a tablespoon of salt and bring to the boil (in preparation for the spaghetti).
2. In a large mixing bowl, add the milk, breadcrumbs, pork mince, fennel seeds, chilli flakes, garlic, salt and pepper. Mix together by hand thoroughly then roll into 14 – 16 balls (depending on how big you like your balls).
   
3. In a large frying pan, add the olive oil and heat over a medium flame. Add the meatballs and fry for a few minutes on each side, turning regularly until they are golden brown all over.
4. Add the tomatoes, olive and chicken stock. Turn up the heat and leave to cook until the liquid is reduced by half.
5. In the meantime, immerse the pasta into the boiling water and add the boil for 5 minutes or until cooked.
6. Serve the pasta, meatballs and sauce together and sprinkle over the freshly shredded basil and parmesan.