Penne for your thoughts

This punchy pasta bake brings together delicious ingredients from all sides of the Mediterranean.

The beef meatball bake with feta from Slimming World serves four and can be ready in less than hour.

Ingredients

1 small onion, roughly chopped

500g lean beef mince (5% fat or less)

1 tsp dried Italian herbs

1 level tsp dijon mustard

1 medium egg

2 large courgettes, grated

Low-calorie cooking spray

400g can chopped tomatoes

900ml boiling beef stock

1 level tbsp rose harissa paste

400g dried penne pasta

50g reduced-fat feta cheese

Chopped fresh parsley, to serve

Salad or vegetables, to serve

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 200˚C/fan 180˚C/gas 6.

Put the onion in a food processor and whizz until finely chopped. Put half of the puréed onion in a bowl and set aside. Add the beef to the onion left in the food processor along with the dried herbs, mustard, egg, half the courgettes and a little salt and pepper. Whizz until combined then transfer to a bowl, divide into 20 portions and shape into meatballs.

Spray a wide non-stick frying pan with low-calorie cooking spray and place over a high heat. Add the meatballs and cook in batches for one-two minutes or until browned all over, turning them occasionally - they won’t be cooked through yet. Transfer to a plate.

Reduce the heat to medium and fry the remaining onion and courgettes for two-three minutes or until softened, stirring often.

Stir in the chopped tomatoes, stock and harissa and bring to the boil. Stir the pasta into the tomato sauce, then carefully pour into a large roasting tin, about 35cm x 24cm. Top with the meatballs, cover with kitchen foil and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked through and the pasta is just cooked but has a little bite.

Evenly crumble over the feta, sprinkle with the parsley and serve hot with salad or vegetables.