The protein cooking time listed in this recipe has been updated.
As of December 2025, we’ve revised cooking times for all our proteins to reflect improved food safety guidance.
Check out the latest recommended times in our Cooking Guidelines.
LEON's Free-range Sicilian Pork Meatballs & Pesto
Ease into your routine this New Year with Mindful Chef x LEON. Here, free-range British pork mince meets raisins, capers and sundried tomatoes, to make the most flavourful meatballs. Then simmer in a garlicky tomato sauce. Serve over fluffy brown rice, and top with a generous dollop of green pesto. Unbelievably tasty.
5 plants
Serving size
Ingredients
- 780g chopped tomatoes (tomatoes, tomato paste, salt, acidity regulator (citric acid))
- 11g chicken stock powder (Rice Flour, Yeast Extract (Yeast Extract, Salt), Potato Starch, Salt, Natural Flavouring, Chicken Meat Powder (Cooked Chicken Meat, Antioxidant: Extracts of Rosemary), Rapeseed Oil.)
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- 40g italian hard cheese (Eggs, Milk) (cow's milk, salt, microbial rennet, preservative (lysozyme protein from egg).)
- 80g sundried tomatoes (Sundried Tomato Halves [Sundried tomatoes 92-88% (Turkey), Salt 8-12% (Turkey), E330 (Citric Acid) 0.4 %, E300 (Ascorbic Acid) 0.35 %], Water, Spirit Vinegar, Rapeseed Oil, Oregano, Salt)
- 500g free-range pork mince
- 200g brown rice (brown rice (100%))
- 200g baby tomatoes
- 8 garlic clove
- 80g baby spinach
- 8 tbsp green pesto (Rapeseed Oil, Broccoli, Spinach, Broad Beans, Basil, Sunflower Seed, Garlic, Salt, Yeast extract powder (Yeast Extract, Salt), Pumpkin Seeds, Porcini Mushrooms, Kale, Golden Linseeds, Citric Acid, White Quinoa, Ascorbic Acid.)
- 40g raisins (Raisins, Sunflower Oil)
- 20g capers (Water, Salt, Vinegar)
Nutritional Information
Calories: 845
Protein: 39g
Carbs: 64g
Fat: 46g
LEON's Free-range Sicilian Pork Meatballs & Pesto
Ease into your routine this New Year with Mindful Chef x LEON. Here, free-range British pork mince meets raisins, capers and sundried tomatoes, to make the most flavourful meatballs. Then simmer in a garlicky tomato sauce. Serve over fluffy brown rice, and top with a generous dollop of green pesto. Unbelievably tasty.
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Cooking Instructions
Before you start
- Bring a large saucepan filled with salted water to a boil
- Pull out a sieve, a large mixing bowl, a small mixing bowl, a large frying pan, a grater & a measuring jug
Cook the rice & toast the fennel seeds
- Add the rice to the saucepan and boil for 25-30 mins, until cooked, then drain
- Heat the dry large frying pan on medium heat. Once hot, add the fennel seeds to the pan and toast for 1-2 mins, stirring frequently
- Remove from the pan and set aside to cool into the large mixing bowl
Make the meatballs
- Finely chop the raisins, capers and sundried tomatoes. Finely grate the hard Italian cheese
- To the large mixing bowl add the pork mince, raisins, capers, half the cheese and half the sundried tomatoes. Season with a generous pinch of salt
- Mix well, and then shape into 16 meatballs
Cook the meatballs
- Reheat the large frying pan with 2 tsp oil on medium-high heat. Once hot, add the meatballs and cook for 5 mins, until golden brown all over
- Remove from the pan and set to one side
Make the sauce
- Meanwhile, thinly slice the garlic and halve the tomatoes
- Reheat the frying pan with 1 tsp oil on medium heat. Once hot, add the garlic and tomatoes and cook for 1-2 mins
- Add the remaining sundried tomatoes and cook for 30 secs before adding the chopped tomatoes, stock powder and 300ml water. Bring to the boil
- Return the meatballs to the pan, then simmer for 14 mins, until cooked through (if the sauce becomes too thick, add a splash of water to the pan). Season to taste with salt and pepper
Cook the meatballs
- Rinse the spinach, then finely chop one-third
- Add the chopped spinach to the small mixing bowl with the pesto, 1 tbsp of oil and remaining cheese. Mix together well
- Check your pork meatballs are cooked through; the meat should be white with the juices running clear.
- Stir the remaining spinach into the sauce to wilt. Serve the rice topped with the meatballs, tomato sauce and pesto
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