isithalal.food · Recipes
Lighter spaghetti and meatballs, no pork
Angela Nilsen's lighter spaghetti and meatballs, with lentil-bulked meatballs made from lean Halal beef mince instead of pork, baked in a quick cherry tomato and oregano sauce.
Each method follows published technique for the dish, and every Halal substitution is checked against the ingredient pages we cite. Photographs come from our ingredient library rather than the finished dish.
Why Halal checks matter here
The meatballs are made from 250 g of lean minced pork, and the Dijon mustard that binds them can be made with white wine.
Halal-critical ingredients
- Minced pork: The published meatballs are 250 g of lean minced pork, and pork is Haram. Use lean Halal beef mince from a Halal butcher or certified pack, as here. See Pork and Beef.
- Dijon mustard: Some Dijon mustard lists white wine as an ingredient. Read the label and choose one without wine. See Mustard.
- Spaghetti: Dried wheat pasta is fine; egg pasta needs its label read. Read the pasta label. See Pasta.
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 1 tsp rapeseed oil, for the baking sheet
- 200 g green lentils, well drained from a 400 g can
- 250 g lean Halal beef mince (our swap for lean minced pork, max 8% fat)
- ½ tsp rosemary, finely chopped
- ½ tsp Dijon mustard without wine (see the mustard check below)
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
Sauce and pasta
- 1 tbsp rapeseed oil
- 2 shallots, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 500 g cherry tomatoes, preferably on the vine, halved
- 125–150 ml water
- 2 tsp tomato purée
- a pinch chilli flakes
- 2 tbsp oregano, chopped, plus a few leaves to garnish
- 280 g spaghetti
Method
- Make and bake the meatballs. Heat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan, gas 6). Line a baking sheet with foil and brush with 1 tsp oil. Roughly mash the lentils with a fork, then mix in the Halal beef mince, rosemary, mustard, garlic and plenty of pepper. Shape into 20 small balls, roll them in the oil and bake for 15 minutes until cooked and lightly browned. Leave the oven on.
- Start the sauce. Heat 2 tsp of the oil in a large non-stick frying pan and fry the shallots and garlic over a medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes until softened. Add the remaining 1 tsp oil, lay in the tomatoes mostly cut-side down, raise the heat and fry for 3 to 4 minutes without stirring until they start to soften.
- Finish the sauce. Splash in 125 to 150 ml water and gently mix in the tomato purée. Lower the heat and simmer for 2 minutes, then season with the chilli flakes, oregano, pepper and a pinch of salt, adding a drop more water if it needs it.
- Bake together. Pour the sauce into a casserole dish, add the meatballs and spoon the sauce over them. Cover with foil and bake for 10 minutes.
- Cook the spaghetti. Meanwhile, boil the spaghetti for 10 to 12 minutes, or as the pack says, until al dente. Drain and serve with the meatballs and sauce and a little more oregano.
Allergens
gluten (spaghetti), mustard
How this recipe was researched
Method adapted from BBC Good Food's 'Lighter spaghetti & meatballs' by Angela Nilsen (serves 4: 200 g drained canned green lentils roughly mashed and mixed with 250 g lean minced pork (max 8% fat), ½ tsp chopped rosemary, ½ tsp Dijon mustard, 1 crushed garlic clove and pepper; shaped into 20 balls, rolled in 1 tsp rapeseed oil on a foil-lined sheet and baked 15 minutes at 200°C (180°C fan, gas 6); 2 shallots and 2 garlic cloves fried 3 to 4 minutes in 2 tsp of 1 tbsp oil; 500 g halved cherry tomatoes fried cut-side down 3 to 4 minutes in the last 1 tsp; 125 to 150 ml water and 2 tsp tomato purée simmered 2 minutes; chilli flakes and 2 tbsp oregano; the meatballs baked in the sauce under foil for 10 minutes; 280 g spaghetti boiled 10 to 12 minutes). We replaced the pork with the same weight of lean Halal beef mince; that swap is ours. Timings follow the published technique rather than a kitchen test.
Photograph of farfalle with beef ragu by Jeremy Keith (CC BY 2.0), not the finished dish from this recipe.