Meatballs in tomato and eggplant sauce with couscous

Instructions

1 To make meatballs, place breadcrumbs in a medium-sized bowl. Add milk and leave to soak for 3 minutes. In a large bowl combine breadcrumb mixture with mince, courgette and parsley. Season with freshly ground black pepper. Wet hands to roll tablespoons of mixture in balls.

2 To make tomato and eggplant sauce, spray a large pan with oil and set over a medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until soft. Add eggplant to pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 3-4 minutes or until golden. Add garlic to pan. Cook, stirring for 1 minute or until mixture is fragrant.

3 Add tomato paste to pan. Cook for 1 minute then add tomatoes with 1 cup water. Bring mixture to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Place half of the tomato and eggplant sauce in an airtight container and place in fridge or freezer (reserving for Day 6 recipe, see tips).

4 Meanwhile, set a large non-stick frying pan over a medium-high heat and spray with oil. Add meatballs in batches and cook, turning, for 6-8 minutes or until browned all over and cooked through. Remove half of the meatballs from pan (reserving for Day 7 recipe, see tips).

5 Add remaining sauce to pan. Simmer for 2-3 more minutes.

6 Divide cooked couscous among serving plates, top with meatballs in sauce and serve with steamed green beans and broccoli.