Now that’s a good meatball! The homemade Marinara Sauce (see Chapter 4) really makes the meal. There is something about homemade foods and sauces that make you want to cook fresh every day. And, with the Instant Pot®, this is feasible with the time on cooked foods cut by at least half.
• Hands-On Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 16 minutes
Yields 16 meatballs
1 pound ground chuck
1 large egg
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup almond meal
2 tablespoons finely diced yellow onion
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons avocado oil, divided
1/2 cup water
11/2 cups Marinara Sauce (see Chapter 4)
1 In a medium bowl, combine ground chuck, egg, basil, almond meal, onion, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Form into 16 golf ball–sized meatballs. Set aside.
2 Press the Sauté button on the Instant Pot® and heat 1 tablespoon oil. Place half the meatballs around the edges of the pot. Sear all sides of the meatballs for a total of about 4 minutes total. Remove the first batch and set aside. Add remaining oil and meatballs and sear 4 minutes. Remove meatballs.
3 Discard extra juice and oil from the pot. Add water to the Instant Pot® and insert steamer basket. Place meatballs evenly on steamer basket. Lock lid. Press the Manual or Pressure Cook button and adjust time to 3 minutes. When timer beeps, quick-release pressure until float valve drops and then unlock lid.
4 Drain the pot. Add meatballs directly to the pot. Pour in Marinara Sauce. Let simmer 5 minutes, gently tossing meatballs.
5 Transfer meatballs and sauce to bowls and serve warm.