O'Flynns Meatballs & Celeriac Pasta

Ugh, Monday. At least tonight's dinner was super easy and super tasty!

I popped into the English Market and picked up 12 gorgeous pork and beef meatballs (with oregano, basil, garlic and chilli) from O'Flynns for €5 and then grabbed a celeriac from Superfruit to make the 'pasta'. 

I've posted here before about this awesome low carb pasta replacement and I'm really enjoying finding new ways to use it!

I covered the meatballs in Marks & Spencer's slightly spicy Arrabiata tomato sauce and baked in the oven for 40 minutes at 180C/355F. That M&S sauce contains an incredible 4g of net carbs for the whole 340g jar- compare that to over 8g of carbs per 125g of Dolmio's Original Sauce!

For the last five minutes of cooking, sprinkle some grated cheddar cheese on top so it's all melty and delicious.

For the celeriac pasta, peel that alien-looking vegetable and slice into 1cm strips. A little less than half an average sized celeriac does the two of us nicely. At about 7g net carbs per 100g, it's a really great low carb option.

Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and add the celeriac. It'll take about 15 minutes to become al dente- which I like- give it another few minutes if you'd prefer it slightly softer.

Serving two people, this whole delicious and comforting meal came in at under €10 and under10g of carbs each. Bargain!

Pulled Pork Belly Salad

This Pork Belly salad is a great option for warmer days, and is my favourite type of food to make- the type that you can leave in the oven and forget about for a few hours. The barbeque sauce gives the meat a smokey, sweet taste and pulled pork is always impressive to serve to guests.

Pro-Tip: If you're looking for a salad dressing to go with this I'd recommend Nash 19's homemade (restaurant-made?) Citrus and Poppy Seed Dressing. You can pick up a bottle in the shop for €3.95 and it lasts in the fridge for ages.

Ingredients

1 Pork Belly

Barbeque Sauce

Salad Dressing

Mixed Leaves

Cashews (optional)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 160/320 degrees. Place the pork belly on a roasting tray, with the fat side facing up. For this recipe I don't season the pork at all before putting it in the oven, just put it straight in.

2. The cooking time will vary according to the size of the pork belly, but an average size joint (about 1 kg) will take roughly 4 hours at 160/320 degrees. You will know it's ready when the meat comes away easily.

3. Once you take it out of the oven, turn the heat up to 200/395 degrees. 

4. Using two forks, pull the meat apart into stringy pieces. Place in an oven-proof dish.

5. Coat the meat sparingly in your choice of barbeque sauce, I like Jack Daniels, Try to choose a brand with a low sugar content.

6. Put the pork back into the oven for ten minutes to crisp.

7. Once ready, allow to cool slightly and serve with a mixed leaf salad. If you'd like to add a bit of texture sprinkle with a few roughly crushed cashews.