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Lentil and oat polpette in tomato sauce

Why it worksOats do the same job as breadcrumbs: they hold moisture and stick the mix together. They cost less and add fibre.

Ingredients

• 800 g tinned lentils
• 60 g oats
• 1 eggs
• 500 g passata
• 200 g onions
• 12 g garlic
• 4 g dried oregano
• 30 ml olive oil
• 300 g pasta

Method

1. Drain and rinse both tins of lentils. Dry them on a clean tea towel, then mash them roughly with a fork.
2. Grate half the onion. Mix it with the lentils, the oats, the egg, a pinch of salt and some pepper. Leave it for 10 minutes so the oats soften and the mix gets firmer.
3. Roll the mix into 3 cm balls. Heat half the olive oil in a large frying pan on medium heat. Fry the balls for 5 minutes, turning them gently, until brown. Put them on a plate.
4. Chop the rest of the onion and the garlic. Cook them in the rest of the oil for 5 minutes. Add the passata and oregano and let it bubble gently for 10 minutes.
5. Put the balls in the sauce for 15 minutes, turning them gently once. Meanwhile, cook the pasta as the packet says. Serve the balls and sauce on the pasta.

A portion: about 600 kcal · 25 g protein · 90 g carbs · 12 g fat