Orecchiette with Baked Meatballs in Tomato Cream Sauce

Ingredients

MEATBALLS:

1/2 Cup Panko

1/4 Cup Milk

1/2 Lb. ground beef

2 Tbsp. grated or shredded onion

1 Tbsp. fresh minced parsley

1 Tbsp. Sour cream

1/2 Tsp. Salt

1/4 Tsp. Black pepper

PASTA & SAUCE:

2 Cups uncooked orecchiette pasta

1/4 - 1/3 cup reserved pasta water

1 Cup jarred Tomato Basil pasta sauce

1/2 Cup heavy cream

1/2 Cup mini Mozzarella Balls (pearls)

Fresh chopped parsley or basil

Directions

In a large mixing bowl, combine Panko with milk. Let stand for 5 minutes or until milk is absorbed. To the panko, add the beef, egg, onion, parsley, sour cream, salt and pepper. The mixture should be quite wet.
Turn on your broiler high.
Shape the meat mixture into 1 1/4 inch meatballs (I used 1 tsp. measuring spoon) and place in a single layer on a lightly coated with cooking spray or oil baking sheet.
Broil the meatballs on HIGH for 3-4 minutes or until lightly golden and almost fully cooked but still slightly pink in the inside. Keep an eye on them so they don't overcook. Remove and let stand at room temperature while preparing pasta & sauce.

Cook pasta al dente according to package directions. Reserve 1/4 - 1/3 cups of pasta water and drain to rest.
In a large saute pan, heat pasta sauce over medium heat. Add cream and bring to a simmer. Add meatballs and simmer over low/med heat for about 5 minutes or until the sauce has thickened slightly and meatballs are cook through (meatballs should be super moist and tender).
Add cooked pasta to the sauce and the reserved pasta water ** Give it couple stirs with a spoon and then add the mozzarella balls.
Sprinkle with fresh herbs and serve immediately.

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