Upgrade Your Buttered Noodles For The Best Toddler Pasta
If your noodle game is stuck at and/or with the usual butter noodles or spaghetti with tomato sauce, we say go with you got—there’s a lot you can do with either template that can build towards more pasta possibilities down the road. Improve the sauce; go wild with your balls of meat. After all, what is feeding a toddler if not learning a thousand different ways to serve the same dish?
In that spirit, here we rethink plain ol’ buttered noodles with some (soft) Greek and Persian notes: think lots of warm spices, sweet notes, and nutty flavors. And the added meatballs—well, what if I told you they were stuffed with the equivalent of peanut butter and jelly? Inspired by the Persian meatball known as Koofteh Tabrezi, typically stuffed with dried fruit and nuts, we’ve given these meatballs an extra savory and a little sweet kick by way of cashew butter and apricot marmalade, resulting in a meatball that’s meaty and rich but also sweet and creamy. It’s the same dish your child knows and loves, only bigger and better–and a gateway to the next one.
Ingredients
Instructions
Prep
- In a small bowl or cup, add a heaping spoonful each of cashew butter and apricot jam; mix to combine.
- In a large bowl, mix the egg; then add the ground beef, breadcrumbs, parsley, cilantro, cumin, turmeric, and cinnamon. With a spoon or your hands, mix and stir until fully blended, then make meatballs by grabbing a small clump of the mixture and pinching and rolling with both hands until a round shape forms.
- Push the round end of a chopstick or your thumb through the bottom of each meatball to create an indent; with a spoon or knife, slather the nut butter-jam mixture into the hole. Push the meat over the top of the hole to cover.
- Refrigerate the meatballs for at least 10-30 minutes before cooking.
Cook and Assemble
- Cook your pasta according to package directions. (When in doubt, cook a minute longer than recommended to ensure it is super soft.) Drain and place in a serving bowl.
- Heat olive oil in a pan set to Medium heat. Once hot, add in the meatballs and cook until each side develops a nicely browned exterior, or roughly 60-75 seconds a side. Remove from heat.
- In the same pan you used to cook the meatballs, add butter and a big spoonful minced garlic; cook for one minute. Add several shakes of cinnamon, a pinch or two of salt, and a bit of pepper over the butter and allow to cook another 30-45 seconds. Remove from heat.
- Pour sauce all over noodles and meatballs. Toss feta cheese or grated parmesan all over.
Serve
Throw some spaghetti and a meatball or two into a bowl or onto a plate; chop up the noodles and meatballs as needed, or organize bites by pinning a one or two noodle pieces to a small chunk of meatball. Grate a bit of cheese and/or sprinkle a bit more cinnamon over the top if it’ll entice your child.
Adapt
We defaulted to spaghetti on this recipe, but pretty much any noodle shape that can hold its own with both butter and rounds of meat will work here: egg noodles, spaetzle, bucatini, farfalle, etc. Traditional koofteh tabrizi typically has rice and yellow peas added to the meat mixture; if you want to add that heft, cook ¼ cup of peas and/or ½ cup of rice, then blend/process with the meat and spices to integrate.
