Spaghetti Bolognese is the most common and popular pasta served in Malaysia (It is after all the gateway pasta, everybody starts on spaghetti Bolognese!). It’s popular for good reason: it’s a hearty, filling main dish that is typically cooked with a tomato-based sauce and minced meat (beef, lamb, or chicken). Today we make a slight twist to this popular pasta dish by replacing minced meat with QL Figo Chicken Meatballs and use spiral pasta instead of spaghetti. Voila, it’s time for pasta Bolognese with chicken meatballs!
You can choose to make the sauce from scratch, or, if you don’t have much time, you can use any ready-made store-bought tomato pasta sauce. It is really simple to make it from scratch (plus it’s way healthier and tastes better!) and it will give you a thick, flavourful sauce infused with dry Italian herbs, just like mama used to make it back in Rome.
QL Figo Chicken Meatballs are pre-cooked and frozen using advanced IQF (Individually Quick Frozen) technology, to preserve the nutrition and taste of the meatballs. In short: they taste great and you don’t need to thaw them before cooking. Just take them out of the freezer and simmer together with the sauce. This makes the dish an even easier and more convenient meal to prepare! In just under 30 minutes this pasta Bolognese dinner is ready to eat! Serve it with a salad and sprinkle grated parmesan cheese over the top. Be warned: this dish is so good you’ll crave for more!
Ingredients
| 300 g | spiral pasta |
|---|---|
| 2 tbsp | olive oil (preferably Extra Virgin) |
| 4 cloves | garlic, chopped |
| 1/2 | onion (medium), diced |
| 1 packet | QL Figo Chicken Meatballs (500 g) |
| 1 can | chopped tomatoes |
| 1 can | tomato paste (small, about 100g) |
| 2 tsp | sugar |
| 1/4 tsp | dry mixed Italian herbs |
| Ground black pepper & salt to taste | |
| Grated or shaved parmesan cheese | |
| Fresh parsley or thyme leaves for garnishing |
Method
- Boil and cook pasta according to instructions on the pack. Divide into 5 deep plates.
- Heat olive oil in a large sauce pan and fry garlic and onion for about 2 minutes, until fragrant.
- Pour in chopped tomatoes, tomato paste and herbs, followed by QL Figo Chicken Meatballs, stir briefly. Leave to simmer on low heat for 10 minutes until sauce is thickened
- Season with ground black pepper, salt and sugar.
- Scoop sauce and meatballs over pasta, garnish with parsley and sprinkle with grated or shaved parmesan cheese before serving, if desired.
QL Kitchen Tips
- You can use QL FIGO Beef Meatballs in place of Chicken Meatballs.
- Sprinkle some chilli flakes into the sauce if you like it spicy
- Feel free to use other types of pasta such as spaghetti, linguine, or penne.
To find out more about QL Figo Foods and where to buy them, click here
