I am always on the lookout for recipes and foods that can be quick to prepare for weeknights. With Max doing more and more clubs, and I have more work to fit into our schedule, I need family meals to be quick to make when we get home after school or after a club.

I do limit how much meat we have each week, having it maybe once or twice a week (I know, that is still quite often)! So this recipe could be made with or without the chipolata sausages, if needed. But I was sent some debbie&andrew’s new reduced fat chipolata sausages to try out. So I thought they’d go well in this easy and quick weeknight meal. The sausages themselves are lower in fat than their counterparts, as well as being gluten, wheat, and dairy-free.

The recipe itself is super tasty and will give you three of your five a day. Plus, the main component being broccoli, means that you get plenty of vitamin K and vitamin C, as well as folic acid. So good to give your immune system a boost!

Chipolata, Broccoli & Chilli Noodles

Ingredients to serve 4:

• One head of broccoli
• 4 debbie&andrew’s Perfect Little Pork Chipolatas
• 1 fresh red chilli
• cooking oil (I used olive oil)
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely sliced
• 2 red onions, finely sliced
• 15g fresh oregano
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 400g tin chopped tomatoes
• approx. 300g dried noodles or spaghetti

What To Do:

1. The first thing to do is to chop the broccoli florets off the stalk. Chop the woody end of the stalk and then slice lengthways. This needs to go in a pan of boiling water, alongside the chipolatas, and the red chilli (left whole). Leave to boil for about five minutes and then remove them all from the pan. Leave the water slowly bubbling away.
2. Next, chop the broccoli florets and then finely slice the chipolatas, the broccoli stalk and the whole red chilli. Then put everything in a frying pan, with a medium heat, with a drizzle of cooking oil and some seasoning.
3. While that is frying, stir occasionally. Once the shiploads look brown, add the garlic and the onion. Stir, and then add in the oregano. cook until the onions are soft.
4. Add the red wine vinegar to the pan. After a minute or so, stir in the tin of chopped tomatoes. The fill the tin halfway up with water and then pour that into the pan too. Simmer for around 15 minutes, until the sauce has thickened.
5. In the pan of water, boil up your noodles or spaghetti according to the instructions on the packet. Drain the noodles when cooked, but reserve some cooking water (about a cupful). Stir the noodles, with some of the cooking water if needed, through the sauce. Once all mixed together; serve.

It is a quick and easy weekday meal that just requires a small about of chopping and boiling. Will you be giving it a go?

*collaborative post