Jess Elliott Dennison’s quick and easy recipe for pork and plum meatball udon

Ripe plums lend a welcome, sweet-sour kick to comforting sausage meatball noodles

End-of-season plums bring a tart, sticky sweetness to this comforting bowl of sausage meatballs and noodles. My favourite udon are those individually portioned fresh packs – I stock up on them from our local Asian supermarket, then stash them in the freezer. Just don’t be tempted to throw them straight into the pan of plum sauce and meatballs, because that way you’ll find yourself with a bowl of strangely pink noodles reminiscent of the blue soup in Bridget Jones!

For the meatballs 4 pork sausages (240g), skins removed 1 egg 45g panko breadcrumbs 2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced ½ tsp fennel seeds, crushed ½ tbsp light soy sauce ¼ tsp flaky sea salt ⅛ tsp Chinese five-spice 1 tbsp vegetable oil , or sunflower oil 2 tbsp sesame seeds

For the sauce 3 plums ½ tsp brown miso paste ½ tsp chilli flakes 1 tsp light soy sauce 1½ tsp light brown sugar

For the noodles 400g fresh (or frozen) udon (I like J-Basket, which are widely available) 50g cucumber, finely sliced To serve Finely ground pepper Soy sauce Malt vinegar Chilli oil

Put the sausagemeat, egg, panko, garlic, fennel seeds, soy sauce, salt and five-spice in a large bowl. With wet hands, really mix the breadcrumbs and seasoning through the meat for about two minutes, then divide into 16 and roll into small meatballs each weighing about 20g.

Fill the kettle and pop it on to boil. Meanwhile, put a large, wide frying pan on a high heat, then add the oil. When it’s hot, put the meatballs in the pan, turn down the heat to medium and fry, turning regularly, for four or five minutes, until golden brown all over. (Don’t worry about the insides cooking through at this stage, because they’ll do so in the sauce later.)

Meanwhile, halve and stone the plums, then finely slice the flesh into half-moons; set aside one plum half for the garnish. In a jug, mix 200ml boiling water with the miso, chilli flakes, soy sauce and sugar.

Once the meatballs are golden, add the sesame seeds to the pan and toast, stirring regularly, for 30 seconds to a minute, until golden. Add the sliced plums, fry for a minute more, then pour in the boiling water-miso mix and simmer on high for four minutes, until the sauce is reduced and sticky. Take off the heat.

Put the udon in a large bowl, cover with boiling water, leave to soften for two to three minutes, then drain into a colander. Divide the noodles between two bowls, then spoon the meatballs and sauce over each serving. Garnish with the reserved plum and sliced cucumber, finish with finely ground pepper, soy sauce, malt vinegar and/or chilli oil to taste, and serve.