Eat Smarter USA | Eat Healthy. Live Smarter.
Ingredients
Baked Pasta with Meatballs
- For the meatballs
- 1 garlic clove
- 18 ozs mixed Ground meat (i.e. beef, pork, turkey)
- 1 large egg
- 3 Tbsps breadcrumbs
- ½ Tbsp dried oregano
- lemon zest
- salt
- freshly ground peppers
- 2 Tbsps olive oil
- For the tomato sauce
- 2 shallots
- 1 garlic clove
- 2 Tbsps olive oil
- 1 tsp Tomato paste
- 18 ozs crushed Tomatoes (canned)
- salt
- ½ tsp sugar
- freshly ground peppers
- For the gratin
- 12 ozs Fusilli
- 1 handful Basil
- 3 ozs Mozzarella
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
For the meatballs: peel garlic and squeeze through a garlic press. Mix well with ground meat, egg, breadcrumbs, oregano and lemon zest and season with salt and pepper. With wet hands, make walnut-sized meatballs. Heat oil in a pan and cook meatballs, few at a time, for about 5 minutes or until browned on all sides.
For the tomato sauce: peel shallots and garlic and chop finely. Heat olive oil in a saucepan and saute shallots and garlic until translucent, add tomato paste, tomatoes and simmer for about 10 minutes on low heat. Season with salt, sugar and pepper.
For the gratin: cook pasta in plenty of salted water until al dente. Drain well.
Layer meatballs and pasta in a baking dish, sprinkle with half of the basil, and pour the sauce over.
Cut mozzarella into small cubes or grate and sprinkle over gratin. Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F for about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and garnish with basil. Serve.
(Percentage of daily recommendation)
| Calorie | 766 cal. | (36 %) | ||
| Protein | 42 g | (43 %) | ||
| Fat | 34 g | (29 %) | ||
| Carbohydrates | 72 g | (48 %) | ||
| Sugar added | 1 g | (4 %) | ||
| Roughage | 6.7 g | (22 %) |
Healthy, because
The carotenoid lycopene from tomatoes can significantly reduce the risk of suffering a stroke. It also has an antioxidant effect and can protect against sunburn, for example. Meanwhile, garlic combats fungi and bacteria with the essential oil allicin. It also ensures a healthy intestinal flora and good digestion.
Even smarter
For the vegetarian version of this dish, the meatballs can be replaced by vegetarian meatballs.