A lot of the time I adapt existing recipes to make them onion and garlic free. I find that as long as the garlic from the original recipe is 1-2 cloves then you will be okay to substitute garlic olive oil.

The original recipe is from the Delicious cookbook "Faking It" also available from the Taste website. It's a lovely winter dinner, and will please people of all ages. If you like chilli, add some dried chilli flakes in with the celery.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon garlic infused olive oil (I use Cobram Estate)
1 stick celery, finely chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 x 400g can chopped tomatoes
5 stock cubes, Massel 7's chicken flavour plus hot water 5 cups
500g plain chicken mince
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
100g pasta of your choice (I used alphabet pasta!)
Fresh basil

Crusty bread and parmesan cheese to serve

Method

1. Heat the garlic olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the celery and cook until softened.
2. Add the tomato paste and stir for 1 minute
3. Add the canned tomatoes and 2.5 cups of the reconstituted stock to the saucepan. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 20 minutes while you make the meatballs.
4. Mix the chicken mince with the bread crumbs and form into bite sized meatballs
5. Heat the remaining stock in a saucepan. Add the meatballs and simmer for 10 minutes, or until cooked through. Remove from the saucepan with a slotted spoon, leaving the stock behind.
6. Add the pasta to the stock, and cook for the time indicated on the packet. Drain, discarding the stock
7. Using a stick blender, blend the tomato soup until smooth. Add the shredded fresh basil at this time if using. Add the meatballs and pasta to the tomato soup and heat for 5 minutes.
8. Serve with grated parmesan cheese and crusty bread.