Comfort food made lighter Angela Nilsen

Lighter Spaghetti & meatballs

I’ve been a bit sneaky here. By mixing in some lentils with the mince, the saturated fat levels have been dramatically reduced. No one will know, as the taste has been sharpened up with lots of herbs, mustard and garlic, and juicy cherry tomatoes for the fresh tomato sauce.

SERVES 4 PREP 30 mins COOK 35 mins

EASY LOW CAL FIBRE IRON 2 OF 5 A DAY

GOOD 4 YOU

meatballs and sauce only

1 tsp rapeseed oil 280g/10oz spaghetti FOR THE MEATBALLS 200g/7oz green lentils (well drained weight from a 400g can) 250g/9oz lean minced pork (max 8% fat) 1/2 tsp fnely chopped rosemary 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard 1 garlic clove, crushed FOR THE SAUCE 1 tbsp rapeseed oil 2 shallots, fnely chopped 2 garlic cloves, fnely chopped 500g/1lb 2oz cherry tomatoes, preferably on the vine, halved 2 tsp tomato purée pinch of chilli fakes 2 tbsp chopped oregano, plus a few chopped leaves to garnish

1 Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Line a baking sheet with foil and brush with 1 tsp oil. Mash the lentils in a bowl with the back of a fork to break down a bit, but not completely. Stir in the pork, rosemary, mustard, garlic, some pepper to generously season, and mix well with the fork to distribute the lentils evenly. Divide the mixture into 4. Form each quarter into 5 small balls – to give you 20 in total – squeezing the mixture together well as you shape it. Lay the meatballs on the foil and roll them around in the oil to coat all over. Bake for 15 mins until cooked and lightly browned. Remove (leave the oven on) and set aside. 2 While the meatballs cook, heat 2 tsp of the oil for the sauce in a large non-stick frying pan. Tip in the shallots and garlic, and fry on a medium heat for 3-4 mins until softened and tinged brown. Pour in the remaining 1 tsp oil, lay the tomatoes in the pan so most of them are cut-side down (to help release the juices), raise the heat and fry them for 3-4 mins or until the tomatoes are starting to soften and release their juices. Don’t stir, or they may lose their shape. Splash in 125-150ml water so it all bubbles, and gently mix in the tomato purée. Lower the heat and simmer for 2 mins to create a juicy, chunky sauce. Season with the chilli fakes, oregano, pepper and a pinch of salt, and give it a quick stir, adding a drop more water if needed – you want it thick enough to coat the meatballs. 3 Pour the sauce into a casserole dish, add the meatballs and spoon the sauce over them to coat. Cover with foil and bake for 10 mins while you cook the spaghetti. 4 Boil a large saucepan of water. Add the spaghetti, stir and bring back to the boil. Cook for 10-12 mins, or following pack instructions, until al dente. Drain well, season with pepper and serve with the meatballs, sauce and a light sprinkling of oregano.

PER SERVING energy 473 kcals • fat 11.6g • saturates 2.8g • carbs 60.6g • sugars 7.6g • fibre 8.8g • protein 27.3g • salt 0.4g

W hat’s the difference?

Per Classic spaghetti Lighter serving & meatballs version

kcals 776 473 fat 31.7g 11.6g saturates 10.8g 2.8g fbre 5.9g 8.8g salt 0.9g 0.4g

Angela’s top tip

n The depth of the rice pudding mixture in the baking dish is important to ensure it doesn’t dry out during the long, slow cooking.

Choose a small, shallow dish where the depth of the pudding mixture is about 4cm/11/2in once it has been poured in.

Lighter Creamy vanilla rice pudding

Many versions I looked at use lots of cream. To retain that richness, but for a lighter result, I adjusted some ingredients, including using light muscovado sugar for its depth of flavour, so less sugar is needed.

SERVES 4 PREP 5 mins COOK 11/2 hrs

EASY LOW FAT CALCIUM

1/4 tsp butter, for greasing 85g/3oz short-grain (pudding) rice 1 tbsp light muscovado sugar 2 tsp golden caster sugar 700ml/11/4pts semi-skimmed milk, plus 50ml/2f oz 1/2 vanilla pod 3 tbsp half-fat crème fraîche fresh raspberries, to serve (optional)

1 Heat oven to 150C/130C fan/gas 2. Grease a 1.2-litre (about 5cm deep) ovenproof baking dish (see tip, below left) and stand it on a baking tray. Tip the rice into a pan with both the sugars and all the milk. Split the 1/2 vanilla pod horizontally, scrape out the seeds into the pan and drop in the pod. Heat the milk, whisking. As it is about to come to the boil, immediately remove from the heat. Pour the mixture into the dish, scraping out all the rice and seeds from the bottom of the pan. 2 Bake for 30 mins, then remove and stir. Return the pudding to the oven for another 30 mins. Stir again and return for a further 25-30 mins until the rice is cooked and has absorbed enough of the milk to give the mixture a creamy consistency. 3 Remove the pudding, let it sit for 1-2 mins, then stir in the crème fraîche to make it extra creamy. Serve with raspberries, if you like.

PER SERVING energy 204 kcals • fat 6.1g • saturates 3.9g • carbs 29.0g • sugars 12.6g, • fibre 0.6g • protein 8.1g • salt 0.2g

W hat’s the difference?

Per Classic Lighter serving rice pudding version kcals 633 204 fat 52.6g 6.1g saturates 32.8g 3.9g sugars 17.7g 12.6g