Ethical Kitchen Herby Chickpea Balls with Tomato Sauce

Serves 3
Preparation: 15 mins
Cooking: 20 mins

Ingredients
2 slices white bread, crusts off and torn into pieces
75g parmesan or vegetarian alternative, 50g roughly chopped and 25g grated
400g can chickpeas, drained
3 garlic cloves, 2 roughly chopped and 1 crushed
2 tsp dried oregano
small handful basil leaves, chopped
1 egg, beaten
1 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for greasing
560ml jar passata with onions and garlic
200g spaghetti, linguine or tagliatelle

Method
1. Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas mark 7. Whizz the bread and roughly chopped parmesan in a food processor to crumbs, then add the chickpeas, roughly chopped garlic, half the oregano, a few basil leaves and some seasoning. Pulse until the mixture starts to come together, then add just enough of the egg while the motor is running to bind together. Shape into 18 small balls. Transfer to an oiled baking sheet and cook in the oven for 15 mins, turning halfway.

2. Meanwhile, in a large pan, fry the crushed garlic in the olive oil for 1 min. Then add the passata, the remaining oregano and some seasoning (a little chilli is also nice if you fancy a bit of heat!) and simmer until the chickpea balls are browned and the mixture is cooked through. Cook the pasta to your liking, following the pack instructions.

3. When the chickpea balls are cooked, serve over the pasta with the tomato sauce and the rest of the basil on top. Sprinkle with the grated parmesan.

Recipe courtesy of BBC Good Food