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Herby, golden turkey meatballs in a rich tomato sauce. The kind of midweek dinner that makes everyone happy.

This is the kind of recipe that sounds like a weekend project but actually comes together on a weeknight without much fuss. Herby turkey meatballs browned until golden, simmered in a simple tomato sauce, tossed through pasta and finished with a generously buttered garlic bread that’s crispy, garlicky and absolutely delicious.

Makes 4 reasonable portions (or 2, if you’re nice and hungry) | Prep time: 20 mins | Cook time: 35 mins

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Turkey Meatballs with Homemade Garlic Bread

Ingredients:

For the meatballs: 500g turkey mince, small bunch of fresh parsley (finely chopped), 2 garlic cloves (minced) 1 egg, 3 tbsp dried parmesan, salt and pepper and olive oil for browning

For the tomato sauce: 1 white onion (finely chopped), 1 tbsp tomato paste, 1 tin chopped tomatoes, roughly 200ml chicken stock, mixed herbs, salt and pepper

To finish: Pasta of your choice, splash of pasta water, mature cheddar, chopped fresh parsley

For the garlic bread: 2 slices of sourdough, 3 – 4 garlic cloves (minced), generous knob of salted butter, small handful of fresh basil

Method:

Make the meatballs. Combine the turkey mince, parsley, garlic, egg, parmesan and a generous seasoning of salt and pepper in a bowl. Mix well until everything is evenly combined, then roll into evenly sized meatballs – roughly golf ball sized works well.

Brown the meatballs. Heat a glug of olive oil in a large pan over a medium-high heat. Brown the meatballs in batches, turning until golden all over. They don’t need to be cooked through at this stage – just coloured. Set aside once nicely browned.

Build the sauce. In the same pan, soften the onion over a medium heat until translucent. Add the tomato paste and cook for a minute, then add the chopped tomatoes, chicken stock and mixed herbs. Season well and stir to combine.

Simmer together. Return the meatballs to the pan, nestling them into the sauce. Cover and simmer gently for 20 – 25 minutes until the meatballs are cooked through and the sauce has thickened beautifully.

Cook the pasta. Meanwhile, cook your pasta of choice, according to the packet instructions. Before draining, reserve a good splash of pasta water. Add the drained pasta to the meatball sauce and toss well, adding a splash of pasta water to loosen everything and help the sauce coat the pasta.

Make the garlic bread. Mix the minced garlic, softened butter and fresh basil together until well combined. Toast the sourdough slices, then spread the garlic butter generously over each one. Return to the grill or toaster until the butter is melted and sizzling.

To serve. Ladle into bowls and top with grated mature cheddar and fresh parsley. Serve the garlic bread alongside.

A few notes:

Don’t skip the pasta water. The starchy water is what helps the sauce cling to the pasta properly and brings everything together.

Turkey mince is leaner than beef or pork so the egg is important here for binding – don’t leave it out or the meatballs will be fragile.

The garlic butter keeps in the fridge for a week and is brilliant on pretty much everything. Worth making a double batch.