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Mean feat no-meat meatballs

       Baked with tomatoes, basil and lemon ricotta

      The balls nestle into the cherry tomato sauce and dollops of cool, lemony ricotta fill the gaps. The tops of the balls crisp up as they bake, while their hidden bottoms stay soft. Delicious. You could swap the ricotta for torn-up mozzarella or even bits of feta. Keep the lemon zest though – it really lifts the dish. This is a real crowd-pleaser and I’m sure you’re going to end up making it loads …

      Serves 2

      —

      1 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for greasing

      ½ onion, peeled and finely diced

      1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed or finely grated

      ½ tsp chilli flakes

      2 tbsp tomato purée

      1 x 400g tin cherry tomatoes in tomato juice

      1 small handful of basil leaves, plus a few extra, to serve

      ½ tsp sugar

      6–10 uncooked Mean Feat No Meat Meatballs, depending on how hungry you are

      6 tbsp ricotta

      1 lemon, zested

      flaked sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

      a few slices of quality bread, to serve

      crisp green salad, to serve

      Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas mark 4.

      Heat the oil in a saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook for 5–7 minutes, or until translucent. Add the chilli flakes and the tomato purée and cook for a further 1–2 minutes. Add the tinned tomatoes, handful of basil leaves and sugar and season well with flaked sea salt and black pepper. Bring to the boil, then turn the heat down to low and simmer for 20 minutes.

      Meanwhile, grease the base of a baking dish with a little olive oil and sit the balls in, evenly spaced. Stick in the hot oven for 20 minutes while the sauce cooks.

      After the sauce has been cooking for 15 minutes, check the seasoning then remove the baking dish from the oven and pour the sauce over and around the balls. Mix the ricotta with the lemon zest and spoon little teaspoonfuls of lemony ricotta into the spaces between the balls. Drizzle the whole lot with a little olive oil and stick it back in the oven for another 20 minutes.

      Remove from the oven, top with the remaining basil leaves and serve with crusty bread/garlicky toasts or a crisp green salad. Or both.

      TIP

      Spoon any leftover ricotta onto softly scrambled eggs, sprinkle with chives and serve with hot buttered toast.

      More recipes to use up ricotta on here, here and here

      © Elly Curshen (back)

Tuscan-style cannellini bean stew

       With a three-cheese toastie

       As a soup with pesto

       With cavolo nero and gremolata

       With crispy-skinned fish and aïoli

Tuscan-style cannellini bean stew

      This stew is especially great on chilly days but as it uses really basic veg that are available all year round, you don’t need to keep it for the depths of winter; the same recipe made with sweet spring veg would be wonderful. Although I think cannellini beans work best for this, you could swap them for butter beans or chickpeas, or even use a mixture. Don’t rush the first section. The finely diced veg (known as mirepoix in Chef Speak AKA French) need to be cooked over a low-medium heat for the full 10 minutes so they’re sweet and tender before you add everything else.

      Makes 8 portions (approx. 400g each)

      —

      4 tbsp olive oil

      2 small onions, peeled and finely diced

      3 medium carrots, peeled and diced

      3 celery sticks, trimmed, cut into 2.5cm sections, fat bits halved lengthways

      8 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed or grated

      4 x 400g tins cannellini beans, drained and rinsed, (960g drained weight)

      4 tsp vegetable bouillon powder

      1 heaped tbsp roughly chopped sage leaves

      1 heaped tbsp thyme leaves

      1 heaped tbsp finely chopped rosemary leaves

      2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes

      flaked sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

      Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over a low heat. Add the onion and cook for a couple of minutes, stirring often. Add the carrot, celery and garlic and cook for a further 10 minutes. Meanwhile, fill and boil the kettle.

      Add the drained beans, 1½ litres of boiling water, the bouillon powder,

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