SANDWICH - MEATBALL SUB

By akselden

Ingredients

• Meatballs in Fresh Tomato Sauce:
• 4 6" hoagie buns, hollowed
• 2 T. olive oil
• Mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 C. olive oil
• 1 1/2 C. yellow onion, diced
• 2 tsp. garlic, minced
• 3 cans (14 1/2 oz. each) whole plum tomatoes, crushed
• 1/2 C. reserved meatball pan drippings
• 1/2 C. minced fresh parsley
• 1 T. sugar
• 1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
• Salt to taste
• 1/4 C. fresh basil, cut in strips
• Parmesan cheese, grated
• Tomato Sauce
• Grated Parmesan
• cooked meatballs:
• 1 C. unseasoned bread crumbs
• 3/4 C. Romano or Parmesan cheese, finely grated
• 1/2 C. whole milk
• 1/2 C. low-sodium beef broth
• 1/2 C. chopped fresh parsley
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 2 T. dried oregano
• 1 T. garlic, minced
• 1 T. kosher salt
• 1 T. ground black pepper
• 2 tsp. dried basil
• 1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
• Pinch nutmeg
• 2 lb. ground chuck
• 1 C. low-sodium beef broth

Details

Servings 4

Preparation

Step 1

1. Preheat oven to 450°. Prepare buns by shaving a thin layer off the top of each roll. Remove some of the bready interior so you're left with a "submarine." Brush inside of hollowed out buns with olive oil.

2. Fill bottom of each bun with mozzarella and place them on a baking sheet. Bake until buns are lightly browned and cheese melts.

3. Fill subs with hot tomato sauce, then 2-3 meatballs. Top subs with more sauce, then sprinkle with cheese.

MEATBALLS AND SAUCE: Saute onions in oil over med-high heat in a large pan until translucent, about 4 min. Stir in garlic. Cook just until you smell it, about 30 seconds. Add tomatoes, pan drippings, parsley, sugar, pepper flakes, and salt. Simmer 15 minutes.

FOR MEATBALLS:
1. Preheat oven to 450°. Stir together all ingredients (except the ground meat) in a large mixing bowl.

2. Add the ground chuck and mix together thoroughly. Using a portioning scoop or 2 spoons, shape the meat mixture into balls (about 2" in diameter or 1 1/2 oz. each). Coat a baking sheet or shallow roasting pan with nonstick cooking spray. Space the meatballs on the pan so they're not touching or crowded together.

3. Cover bottom of pan with beef broth. Bake for 25 minutes, or until the meatballs are just cooked through. Reserve pan juices for sauce.

Add cooked meatballs to the sauce and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes to heat through.

Before serving, add the fresh basil strips. Garnish pasta and meatballs with grated Parmesan cheese.