I love this dish because the balls can be prepared in advance, then dinner can be ready in the time it takes to heat some sauce and cook some pasta when I get home from work. This recipe was adapted from the lovely bakebikeblog to suit my fussy kid.

Makes approx. 20 balls, serves 4-6 depending on what you accompany it with

Ingredients

400g firm tofu, well mashed
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
1 tsp dried oregano, or other fresh or dried herbs to taste
2 tablespoons tomato paste
100g mozzarella, cut into small cubes

tomato pasta sauce of your choice

Directions

Preheat oven to 200ºC. Line a baking tray with baking paper.

Combine everything except the mozzarella in a large bowl.

For each ball, take a golf-ball-sized handful of the tofu mix, flatten it a little in the palm of your hand, put a cube of mozzarella in the middle and press the tofu mixture into a ball around it, making sure the mozzarella is completely covered (or it will leak out as it melts).

Put balls on the tray and bake for about 20 minutes, carefully turning them over halfway, until dark golden.

Meanwhile, heat/prepare tomato sauce in a wide, shallow pan. Gently put the balls in the sauce and continue to cook on low heat for about 10 minutes.

Serve on a bed of pasta with a sprinkle of parmesan or just on their own with a hunk of fresh, crusty bread.