I’m almost always up for a big bowl of pasta. So good. Unfortunately, I have to be careful with carbs – once they enter my body, they collect on my hips and never leave the premises again ;P I think many know this problem as well. I hope this easy to prepare Pasta with Meatballs & Spinach is not too tempting for anybody…
If you had a busy day at the office (this also applies to working from home), you don’t want to spend a lot of extra time in the kitchen to prepare dinner. This is one of the moments this pasta dish is an absolute treat. Ready in 30 minutes or less and extremely tasty. Your family will love it for sure.
When preparing a dish like this one here with I love using bratwurst instead of minced meat. Uncooked bratwurst or other sausage meat is similar to minced meat and can be used the same way. In Germany, we love our bratwurst – that’s the reason why they are quite often on sale in supermarkets. Especially when the BBQ season started ;P If you use those sausages instead of regular minced meat you can save some money. At least from my experience here in the supermarkets. In case you prefer regular ground meat, you can use that, of course. You might need to season the meat a bit more, because ready-made sausages are normally already slightly seasoned.
The preparation of this dish is very simple. Shape the meatballs, fry them nicely from all sides, prepare the sauce in the same pot, add the cooked pasta and mix everything. Done. Maybe add some Parmesan cheese as well (this never hurts) to finish the dish. It’s really quick and easy. If you do the cooking with someone else, you will have your dinner on the table in no time ;)
The sauce is the star of the dish here – at least in my opinion. Sour cream, broth, wine, and mustard combined create a really rich and creamy sauce with loads of flavors. I really love that kind of (mustard) sauce… but I also love using mustard pretty much everywhere. I am easy to please here ;P
The dish works with many types of veggies. If you are not a fan of baby spinach, you can replace it with broccoli, zucchini or kale, for example. Just make sure you add those veggies earlier to the sauce so they can cook through properly. In some cases it might be even better to cook the veggies separately in some water first until they are done – and then add them to the pot. Spinach only needs split seconds to be wilted and done – very different to other veggies ;P
Anyway. If you like pasta dishes like this one here I got much more on the blog. Recipes with meat, vegetarian, vegan… everything ;) Two of my favorite dishes would be Gnocchi with Chorizo, Tomatoes & Spinach and Bavette alla Puttanesca (pictures above). Both really delicious!
INGREDIENTS / ZUTATEN
some olive oil for frying
14 oz. (400g) pork sausage links (casings removed)
2 tbsp. butter
1 medium red onion, finely chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1/3 cup (80ml) white wine
1 cup (240ml) chicken stock
3.5 oz. (100g) sour cream
1 tbsp. mustard
1 tsp. dried thyme
salt, pepper
7 oz. (200g) baby spinach
10.6 oz. (300g) pasta (e.g. rigatoni)
etwas Olivenöl zum Anbraten
400g Bratwürste
2 EL Butter
1 mittelgroße rote Zwiebel, fein gewürfelt
2-3 Knoblauchzehen, fein gehackt
1 EL Mehl (Type 405)
80ml Weißwein
240ml Hühnerbrühe
100g Schmand
1 EL Senf
1 TL Thymian
Salz, Pfeffer
200g Babyspinat
300g Nudeln (z.B. Rigatoni)
DIRECTIONS / ZUBEREITUNG
1. Remove the casings from the sausage links and shape the meat into small balls. Set aside. Peel the onion and garlic and chop finely. Wash and dry the spinach and set aside. Have a large pot with salted water ready for the pasta later on.
2. Add some olive oil to a large (cast iron) pot and heat up. Add the meatballs and fry them until nicely browned all around. Take them out and set aside.
3. Add the butter to the pot and let it melt. Add the chopped onion and sauté until soft and glossy. Next, add the chopped garlic and sauté as well until softer. Add the flour and mix in, let everything cook for a minute or two, then deglaze with the wine. Let that cook (while stirring constantly) until the liquid in the pot has thickened a lot. Add the chicken stock, sour cream, and mustard and stir well. Reduce the heat a bit and season with the thyme, salt, and pepper. Add meatballs back into the pot and let everything simmer for 5-6 minutes.
4. While the sauce is simmering cook the pasta according to the package instructions until al dente.
5. Add the spinach to the pot and mix in – it will lose a lot of volume very quickly. Drain the pasta and keep some pasta water in case the sauce gets too thick. Add the pasta and mix in. Add some pasta water if needed, season with more salt and pepper to your liking and serve.
1. Was Wurstbrät aus den Därmen herauslösen und zu kleinen Kugeln formen. Zur Seite stellen. Zwiebel und Knoblauch schälen und fein hacken. Den Spinat waschen, trocknen und zur Seite stellen. Einen großen Topf mit Salzwasser für die Nudeln bereitstellen.
2. Etwas Olivenöl in einen großen (gusseisernen) Topf geben und erhitzen. Die Fleischbällchen in den Topf geben und rundum anbraten. Herausnehmen und zur Seite stellen.
3. Die Butter in den Topf geben und schmelzen lassen. Die gehackte Zwiebel dazugeben und glasig andünsten. Wenn die Zwiebeln weich sind, den Knoblauch dazugeben und kurz mit andünsten. Das Mehl dazugeben, unterrühren und alles für 1-2 Minuten anrösten lassen. Mit dem Weißwein ablöschen. Alles unter ständigem Rühren köcheln lassen, bis die Flüssigkeit im Topf ordentlich angedickt hat. Hühnerbrühe, Schmand und Senf dazugeben und unterrühren. Die Hitzezufuhr reduzieren und mit Thymian, Salz und Pfeffer würzen. Die Fleischbällchen wieder in den Topf zurückgeben und alles für etwa 5-6 Minuten köcheln lassen.
4. Während die Soße köchelt, die Nudeln nach Packungsanweisung al dente kochen.
5. Den Spinat in den Topf dazugeben und untermischen. Die Nudeln abgießen und etwas Nudelwasser aufbewahren, falls die Sauce zu dickflüssig geworden ist. Die Nudeln dazugeben und untermischen. Bei Bedarf noch etwas Nudelwasser zugeben, mit Salz und Pfeffer nach Belieben abschmecken und servieren.
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Here is a version of the recipe you can print easily.
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Pasta with Meatballs & Spinach
- Prep Time: 00:10
- Cook Time: 00:20
- Total Time: 00:30
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: International
Description
A simple and easy pasta dish you can prepare – perfect for a quick weeknight dinner: Pasta with meatballs and spinach. Done in 30 minutes or less ;)
Ingredients
some olive oil for frying
14 oz. (400g) pork sausage links (casings removed)
2 tbsp. butter
1 medium red onion, finely chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1/3 cup (80ml) white wine
1 cup (240ml) chicken stock
3.5 oz. (100g) sour cream
1 tbsp. mustard
1 tsp. dried thyme
salt, pepper
7 oz. (200g) baby spinach
10.6 oz. (300g) pasta (e.g. rigatoni)
Instructions
1. Remove the casings from the sausage links and shape the meat into small balls. Set aside. Peel the onion and garlic and chop finely. Wash and dry the spinach and set aside. Have a large pot with salted water ready for the pasta later on.
2. Add some olive oil to a large (cast iron) pot and heat up. Add the meatballs and fry them until nicely browned all around. Take them out and set aside.
3. Add the butter to the pot and let it melt. Add the chopped onion and sauté until soft and glossy. Next, add the chopped garlic and sauté as well until softer. Add the flour and mix in, let everything cook for a minute or two, then deglaze with the wine. Let that cook (while stirring constantly) until the liquid in the pot has thickened a lot. Add the chicken stock, sour cream, and mustard and stir well. Reduce the heat a bit and season with the thyme, salt, and pepper. Add meatballs back into the pot and let everything simmer for 5-6 minutes.
4. While the sauce is simmering cook the pasta according to the package instructions until al dente.
5. Add the spinach to the pot and mix in – it will lose a lot of volume very quickly. Drain the pasta and keep some pasta water in case the sauce gets too thick. Add the pasta and mix in. Add some pasta water if needed, season with more salt and pepper to your liking and serve.
Notes
Let your creativity shine in the kitchen!
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