Put simply and quickly, this is an easy, easy weeknight dinner that you and your family will love. What’s not to love about pasta and meatballs?!
A while back, my friends and I exchanged freezer meals. To be honest, I don’t think that they froze the meals. We made them fresh, divvied them out, and I think that they ate them straight away. But I was looking to plan a head a little. I work full-time and am in grad school; with two little kids, some things have had to fall to the way side or be outsourced. I prefer to try not to outsource our meals at home and control the ingredients as much as I can, but cooking on weeknights can be a challenge!
This morning, by husband was really excited to see that I had frozen one of the two dinners of turkey veggie meatballs. I had it out to thaw all day in the fridge and managed to get home early and see that they were still rock hard. No problem! I’ve been trying to use more of the Instant Pot functions lately knew that they would thaw at 5 minutes high pressure. Do you know what else you can make at 5 minutes of high pressure? Pasta.
This dish was a treat for us as we typically trend towards paleo. When my husband came home and I told him I had an experiment going in the InstantPot with his fave meatballs and pasta, he immediately asked me to clarify if it was “real” pasta or the plant-based pasta we’ve mainly eaten for the past 3 years. The pressure was on–neither of us wanted me to ruin this beautiful pasta.
To make it, I added a 1b of frozen meatballs to the IP, then about 3/4 lb of fusilli bucati. If you are in the Bay Area, Zanotto’s stocks this shape of pasta that otherwise may not be in your neighborhood market. Y’all, I would order this pasta online if I couldn’t find it locally. Fusilli is tubular pasta that is then shaped into curls. Each perfectly-sized strand is hollow, and the curls expand as they absorb their cooking liquid. It is excellent for a saucy dish. It is the perfect length for toddlers and kids. Sauce it just right and it won’t spray you. Meaning that your kids’ pasta won’t spray you either. Win!
I will post the meatball recipe once I have it from my friend; however, I intentionally wrote this with generic frozen meatballs because you can easily purchase them. My friends are fans of the Trader Joe’s meatballs in the freezer section. I always prefer homemade when possible, and these had a little curry and a lot of zucchini, onion, and mushrooms that definitely added depth to the broth. The brilliance of my friend in adding these spices and veggies to the meatballs is that when used for a pasta dish like this, you don’t actually have to season it. The meatballs do it for you.
After I added the pasta, I added the rest of the Better than Beef bouillon I had in the fridge–roughly 1.5 tablespoons. Then I added water just so that the all the ingredients were NOT covered. Leave about a 1/2 inch uncovered. This is key; if you add too much liquid, your pasta will bloat, the sauce in progress will not be as flavored, and the dish will be severely affected.
Cook on high pressure for 5 minutes. I was playing with the kids (which I now have more time for thanks to freezer meals and the InstantPot!!) and let the machine natural release for 2 minutes, then force release.
Remove the pasta and meatballs. I put them in a stovetop pan, where they will be stored overnight and quickly reheated the next day for leftovers.
With all that delicious, starchy broth in the InstantPot, toss in just a little flour. I don’t measure, but I’m guessing about a tablespoon, and also 1-2 tablespoons of butter. (The butter could be optional, but it adds a gloss and richness to the sauce that I wouldn’t skip.) Punch the high pressure button and whisk intermittently until a nice gravy starts to come together. This will be forgiving; if you add too much flour and it becomes gluey or too thick, add a little water and whisk. a great technique is to look for nappe consistency: when you dip a spoon in any sauce, observe how it coats and drips off the spoon. If it runs too quickly and the spoon is quickly visible, you may want to reduce it more. If the sauce is hot AND the liquid doesn’t run, your sauce could be too thick.
Serve out portions of meatballs and pasta in their bowls, and individually dump each serving, one by one, back into the pot to toss it in the gravy. This extra step is so worth it. Enjoy!
The Life So Valley 