It’s a typical Seattle day, cloudy with a misting of rain. I’ll take that over the 3+ feet of snow we’ve had recently. Plus it’s a good excuse to get in the kitchen and cook. What better way to wind down the workday than to cook a recipe from two lovely ladies, Jane of The Heritage Cook and Sara of My Imperfect Kitchen, who have updated their Gluten Free Instant Pot Cookbook (Revised and Expanded Edition), which features over 100 recipes (50 of which are brand new).

With so many recipes to chose from, I wanted to focus on a recipe that was easy to make during the week and would yield leftovers. I looked through the recipes and settled on the Teriyaki Meatballs. Ground turkey is low in calories, so thought that would be a good jumping off point. I’m also a big fan of the flavor profile for Teriyaki Meatballs.I’m still fairly new to using my Insta Pot. I have to YouTube directions from time to time when I can’t figure out how to accomplish a certain setting, so I always proceed with caution, and last night was no different.

My trusty sous chef (my mom) helped me mise en place (prepare) all the ingredients so they were ready since I’m Insta Pot challenged. My mom and I enjoy cooking together and she always loves making one-pot pressure cooker type meals. We laughed a lot just trying to get the lid off and on to the darn Insta Pot!

The recipe Sara and Jane created for the Teriyaki Meatballs is quite simple. You will need some special ingredients (sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, sesame seeds) which you might not keep readily available in your home, but they’re easily found in any grocery store. With all my ingredients laid out, I began following the recipe, first, preparing the meatball mixture. I placed a piece of parchment paper down on the cutting board, having a place to put the nicely formed meatballs. Next, I used a large glass mixing bowl and added turkey, green scallions, gluten-free Panko breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, garlic powder, eggs, mixing to fully incorporate all the ingredients.

With my trusty one inch cookie scoop in hand, I dove into the meatball mixture and formed perfect little meatballs. The recipe yields 40, but depending how you like your meatballs, one could use a bigger scope.

Lid off, I accurately set the “sauté” setting on the Insta Pot and added the oil as the recipe directions laid out. I’ve never used the sauté mode, I’m more an old school pressure cooker kinda gal: loader up and flip on the timer. I actually still have my grandmother old pressure cooker with the vent knob on the top, but I don’t darn use it today for fear of blowing a hole in my kitchen ceiling. Ok, back to the recipe. . . I placed the meatballs in the Insta Pot and turned just after the two minute mark. Next time I make these I will only place meatballs along the edge. The Insta Pot’s “Pot” is not flat on the bottom, so the cooking oil migrated to the sides, so meatballs in the center of the pot seem to stick more. Heaven help us if we lose a meatball!

While the meatballs were cooking, I lined a plate with a paper towel and set it next to the Insta Pot. Once the meatballs were browned (sautéed) on each side, I placed them on the plate to rest while I cooked the remaining meatballs. Once all the meatballs were cooked and resting, I turned off the Insta Pot and carefully removed the pot. A few meatballs got lost in the shuffle and I didn’t want to have a bunch of broken pieces in the sauce (don’t hate me I’m a purist). After washing out the pot, I placed the pot back in, turned it on, set the temp as instructed in the recipe. I added in the all the meatballs, with the final step being to add in the sauce and let it cook for 15 minutes on high pressure. Once the 15 minutes passed, I released the steam for 10 minutes, then added in the slurry mix. I prepared white rice to go with the Teriyaki Meatballs as I wanted it to be a hearty meal, sprinkling the dish with scallions and sesame seeds to finish.

For tonight’s dinner we had left over meatballs and I have to say the flavors were even more developed. As a note to self, I will make the sauce up a day in advance so the flavors have time to meld.

I highly recommend this cookbook. For someone who is a novice at cooking in the Insta Pot, Jane & Sara make recipes easy to follow and provide clear directions in their recipes.

Teriyaki Meatballs (Page 53) GLUTEN FREE • NUT FREE

Yield: 40 meatballs

These tender, juicy meatballs come together quickly and get cooked in an easy home-made teriyaki sauce. We use ground turkey in place of traditional ground beef and swap out gluten-filled soy sauce with coconut aminos for a gluten-free alternative. The cornstarch slurry turns the sauce into a rich glaze for the meatballs. All you need to do is put them on a plate and serve them to your guests.

Ingredients:

Teriyaki Sauce

• 1 cup (235 ml) coconut aminos or gluten-free soy sauce
• ½ cup (120 ml) rice wine vinegar
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon (8 g) freshly grated ginger
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons (10 ml) sesame oil
• ⅓ cup (75 g) brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons (40 g) honey
• 1 teaspoon black pepper

Meatballs

• 2 pounds (908 g) ground turkey meat (Jennie-O is gluten-free)
• ½ cup (60 g) gluten-free panko bread crumbs
• 2 large eggs
• ½ cup (50 g) thinly sliced scallion, green parts only (divided)
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1½ teaspoons freshly cracked black pepper
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons (16 g) cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) cold water
• 1 tablespoon (8 g) sesame seeds, for garnish

Cooking Instructions:

Teriyaki Sauce – Combine the coconut aminos, vinegar, garlic, ginger, vegetable oil, sesame oil, brown sugar, honey, and pepper in a medium bowl. Set aside.

Meatballs – In a large bowl, combine the ground turkey, bread crumbs, eggs, ¼ cup (25 g) of the scallions, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Using a scant 1 ounce (28 g), gently shape into 40 meatballs. Press Sauté on your electric pressure cooker. When the inner pot is hot, add the oil. When the oil is hot, add enough meatballs to cover the bottom of the pot, browning for about 2 minutes per side. Remove to a serving platter while you brown the rest. When all the meatballs are browned, return them to the pot and pour the teriyaki sauce over them. Close and lock the lid, making sure the steam release handle is in the sealing position. Cook on high pressure for 15 minutes. When the cook time is finished, allow a natural release for 10 minutes, then do a quick release to vent any remaining steam. Once the float pin drops, you can safely unlock the lid. Press Cancel. In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and water until it forms a slurry. Press Sauté and when the mixture starts to bubble, add the slurry to the pot, continuing to stir until the sauce thickens considerably around the meatballs, 3 to 5 minutes.

To serve, transfer the meatballs to a large platter. Skewer each one with a decorative toothpick and sprinkle with the remaining ¼ cup (25 g) sliced scallions and the sesame seeds.