Pasta with roasted spinach polpette and tomatoes
Serves: 2
Prep time: 20 minsTotal time: 
Recipe photograph by Toby Scott
Pasta with roasted spinach polpette and tomatoes
Yes, you can have low-calorie pasta – the trick is to replace a heavy sauce with lots of veg. Polpette are Italian-inspired spinach dumplings. They’re simple to make and a great source of iron, too
Serves: 2
Prep time: 20 minsTotal time: 
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Nutritional information (per serving)
Calories
385Kcal
Fat
14gr
Saturates
4gr
Carbs
43gr
Sugars
7gr
Fibre
6gr
Protein
20gr
Salt
0.8gr
Angela Boggiano
Angela is a freelance food writer, stylist and recipe developer who has worked in the industry for over 20 years. Testament to her Italian roots, she is always planning one meal ahead and good food is at the forefront of her mind.
See more of Angela Boggiano’s recipes
Angela Boggiano
Angela is a freelance food writer, stylist and recipe developer who has worked in the industry for over 20 years. Testament to her Italian roots, she is always planning one meal ahead and good food is at the forefront of her mind.
See more of Angela Boggiano’s recipes
Ingredients
- 1 x 260g bag young spinach
- 300g cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 75g fresh breadcrumbs
- 1 medium egg, beaten
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- zest of 1 small lemon
- 15g Parmesan or vegetarian alternative, grated finely, plus extra to serve, optional
- 175g fresh egg penne
- large handful of fresh basil, roughly torn
Step by step
- Preheat the oven to 220°C, fan 200°C, gas 7. Wash the spinach and put in a large saucepan, with just the water that clings to its leaves, and heat gently until wilted (this will take about 4 minutes). Drain in a colander, squeezing out as much excess water as you can. Leave until cool enough to handle.
- Put the halved cherry tomatoes in a roasting tin, season and drizzle with half the oil. Roast for 5-7 minutes while you make the polpette.
- Chop the cooled spinach and put in a large bowl. Add the breadcrumbs, egg, garlic, lemon zest and Parmesan. Season well with a good pinch of salt and some ground black pepper, then mix together thoroughly. It might be easier at this point to get your hands in to help mix everything together. Shape the mixture into 12 small balls.
- Add the polpette to the other end of the roasting tin, drizzle with the rest of the oil and roast for 10 minutes until the tomatoes are collapsing and the polpette are crispy.
- Meanwhile, bring a large pan of water to the boil and cook the pasta for 4-5 minutes until tender. Drain and add to the tomatoes and polpette in the roasting tin along with the basil, and toss everything together well. Serve with a little extra Parmesan if you wish.
