Kangaroo meatball spaghetti with bush tomato sauce

Mighty meatballs and warrigal greens meet a glossy red spaghetti sauce flavoured with bush tomato.

• serves

  4-6

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  45 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Packed with protein, low in fat and raised on the open Aussie landscape, kangaroo brings a healthy twist to comfort food without the guilt of too many calories. It’s also a sustainable choice, hopping straight from the wild with minimal environmental impact. Now, let’s dress up these mighty meatballs. Imagine them lounging in a glossy red pepper sauce, sweetened and thickened with bush tomato – the Aussie version of nonna’s secret passata. Add warrigal greens and suddenly your meatballs are flexing hard. Pepperberries bring heat that winks at you like a little sous-chef, while a dusting of saltbush finishes the dish with a coastal breeze. The result? A plate that’s earthy, fiery and just a little bit wild, like nonna moved to Alice Springs and started gardening with my aunties. You’ll be wondering why spaghetti ever thought it was the star.

Ingredients

• 500 g minced (ground) kangaroo
• 100 g minced (ground) pork
• 1 onion, grated and juice reserved
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• ½ cup finely chopped flat-leaf (Italian) parsley leaves
• 1 cup soft white bread, torn into small pieces
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp ground pepperberry, plus extra to serve
• ½ tsp dried saltbush
• good pinch of sea salt
• 1 tsp celery salt
• 100 ml extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
• 600 g dried spaghetti
• 2 cups warrigal greens
• finely grated parmesan cheese, to serve

Red sauce

• 4 large red capsicums (bell peppers)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 French shallots, diced
• 1 tsp chilli flakes, or to taste
• 1 tsp ground bush tomato
• 1 tsp ground pepperberry
• 400 g tinned diced tomatoes
• 3 tbsp tomato paste (concentrated puree)
• 100 ml beef stock
• salt, to taste

Standing time: 10 minutes.

Instructions

1. To make the red sauce, place the capsicums under a hot oven grill (broiler) or directly over a flame until blackened. Place in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let them steam for 10 minutes. Peel, deseed and roughly chop.
2. Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium–high heat and sauté the garlic and shallots until soft. Add the roasted capsicum, chilli, bush tomato and pepperberry. Stir in the tinned tomatoes, tomato paste and stock. Simmer 15–20 minutes, then blend until smooth. Season with salt and keep warm over a very low heat.
3. Combine the kangaroo, pork, onion, garlic, parsley, bread, egg and seasonings in a bowl. Mix gently (don’t overwork it). Roll the mixture into small balls.
4. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan and brown the meatballs on all sides. Pour in the red sauce and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the meatballs are cooked through and the sauce is glossy.
5. Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti in a large saucepan of boiling water, following packet instructions, until al dente. In the last 2 minutes, toss in the warrigal greens. Drain and drizzle with extra olive oil.
6. Toss the spaghetti mixture through the red sauce and meatballs. Serve hot, scattered with parmesan and a sprinkle of extra pepperberry.

This is an edited extract from Native Ingredients Every Day by Nornie Bero (Hardie Grant Books). Photography by Rochelle Eagle.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.