Beef and quinoa meatballs with tomato dunking sauce

These are a more or less classic meatball, with a bit of apple for sweetness, carrot for extra veg and quinoa because, well, every toddler needs their Andean superfoods. Maybe not such a classic meatball, in point of actual fact.

We mix them with egg, Parmesan and tomato puree and roll them into balls then roast them.  Rather than tossing them through tomato sauce, we're dishing them up as 5 meatballs with the sauce in a separate pot. Some children will like to dunk them but you could also heat the sauce and meatballs and serve them together with pasta. You could also cut out the middle man and serve two of them on the high chair tray table, throw one on the floor, mash one in your hair and feed one to the dog.

Beef, quinoa, carrots, onion, apple, egg, tomatoes, cumin, garlic, basil, olive oil, tomato paste, Parmesan.

Great on their own - and a perfect lunchbox filler for pre-schoolers - but good tossed through pasta with some torn herbs and grated cheese as well.