Garlic Bucatini with Pesto Meatballs

Garlic Bucatini
with Pesto Meatballs

Prep Time: 40 Min
Cook Time: 35 - 40 Min

Yields: 4 Servings

What You Need

• 454 G Dry Bucatini Pasta

MY PERFECT PESTO <3
www.thehappyveg.ca/recipes/my-perfect-pesto-recipe
MEATBALLS

• 340g Impossible Foods Beef
• 2 cloves Garlic, crushed & minced
• 2 Shallots, finely diced
• 1/4 C Fresh Parsley, chopped
• 1/4 C Cooked & Cooled Brown Rice
• 1/3 C Grana Padano, finely shredded
• 1 Tsp. Dried Basil
• 1/2 Tsp. Red Pepper Flakes
• 1/4 Tsp. Himalayan Salt

SAUCE

• 2 Tbsp. Unsalted Butter
• 1 Tbsp. EVOO
• 1/2 Tsp. Red Pepper Flakes
• 4 cloves Garlic, crushed & minced
• 1 Yellow Onion, finely diced
• 2/3 C White Wine ( I used Pinot Grigio)
• 1 C Whipping Cream, room temperature
• 3/4 C Grana Padano, finely shredded
• Himalayan Salt & Cracked Pepper
• GARNISH - Grana Padnao, Parsley, Basil
  

Directions

• Bring a large pot of cold, generously salted water to a boil and leave covered.
• PESTO - Prepare the pesto according to the recipe provided, or, simply sub in your fave store-bought brand.​

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• MEATBALLS - Mix everything together in a mixing bowl until fully combined. Scoop heaping Tbsp.'s of the mixture in to your hand and roll them in to meatballs. Transfer the meatballs to a parchment lined sheet and set aside.=​

• Preheat oven to 400 F.
• SAUCE - Begin heating the garlic, butter, EVOO, and pepper flakes, in a large skillet set to just about medium heat. Once heated, stir and let everything sizzle together for about 30 seconds or so. Add the onion and a good pinch of both salt & pepper, stir, and let those onions cook about 8 - 10 minutes until soft. Pour in the wine, season once again with a good pinch of salt, and let that simmer off until mostly reduced, about 6 - 7 minutes.
• At this point, add your meatballs to your preheated oven and let them cook 15 - 17 minutes, flipping halfway.
• Back to the sauce, now that the wine has mostly reduced, let's add our bucatini to the boiling water and cook to just about al dente. In the meantime, pour the cream in to the skillet and season once again with salt & pepper. Once the cream sauce starts bubbling away, reduce the heat to a simmer and and cook until the pasta is ready. Once the pasta is just about al dente perfection, strain it directly in to the skillet with the cream. Toss the bucatini in the skillet over the simmer as the sauce thickens and pasta finishes cooking. Once the pasta is perfect, turn off the heat, add the grana padano and a good ladle of your hot pasta water, and toss until glossy and saucy. Taste and season with salt / pepper as needed. 
• Once the meatballs finish up in the oven, add them to a mixing bowl and add a few scoops of your pesto the bowl while the meatballs are hot. Toss until the meatballs are coated in the pesto, adding more if needed to get them nice and saucy.
• Serve up your bucatini and top each serving off with 3 meatballs. Garnish with grana padano, fresh parsley, and fresh basil. ENJOY!

HAPPY VEG