Sticky Sausage Meatball Noodles

This dish incorporates two of my favourite things - noodles and sausages! It might sound a bit odd but if you get some good quality pork sausages, you're essentially getting the perfect mix of protein, fat and seasoning without any of the faff.

The sauce is sweet and sticky but with a good chilli kick, the hum of garlic and ginger and the zing of vinegar for a perfectly balanced mouthful every time. I used asparagus as they're bang in season at the moment but you can use any green veg you like.

Sticky Sausage Meatball Noodles

Serves 3

For the sauce:

1 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp sriracha sauce

1 tbsp rice or sherry vinegar

30g brown sugar

1 garlic clove, grated

2cm piece ginger, grated

For the meatballs:

6 large outdoor-reared pork sausages

2 tsp soy sauce

Bunch of spring onions, half finely chopped, half sliced

200g asparagus, cut into 2 inch pieces

2 x 150g pre-cooked noodle pouches

1 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted

1 lime, juice only

freshly ground black pepper

To make the sauce, combine all of the ingredients in a small pan over a low-medium heat. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes until thickened. Set aside.

Remove the sausage meat from the casings and put in a large bowl with the soy sauce, finely chopped spring onions and lots of black pepper. Mix well, then shape into meatballs. You should be able to get around 21 (so 7 each).

Heat a large frying pan or wok over a medium heat. Cook the sausages in batches until browned all over and almost cooked through (around 6-8 minutes per batch). Depending on the fat content in your sausages, you may need to add a little oil to stop them sticking. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Add the asparagus to the pan with a splash of water and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the meatballs back to the pan together with the noodles and sauce. Continue to cook for around 5 minutes, stirring, until everything is hot and the meatballs are cooked through.

Squeeze over the lime juice, toss to coat then scatter over the sliced spring onions and sesame oils. Serve in big bowls for slurping!