Dining In: Super Easy Meatball Sandwiches

I’ll admit it, while I’m a snob about a lot of things meatball sandwiches aren’t among them. I’ve even stooped to the level of eating them at Subway (black olives and gardinera, please) from time to time. However, I haven’t had one in a while. So the other night when there was a half-loaf of crusty bread sitting on the counter, I felt suitably inspired to whip some up.

For the base meatball recipe, I went with Fabio Viviani’s Perfect Italian Meatballs. (SIDE NOTE: I know Fabio from the Domino’s commercials, and that’s it. I’ve never seen an episode of “Top Chef” in my life and usually retreat upstairs with a glass of bourbon when it’s on. However I did get to meet Stephanie Izzard this summer when I was ripped outta my gourd at a Goose Island party.) Recipe below. I had 1.5 lbs of ground beef on hand, so I increased everything by an extra 50%. Be warned, it makes a TON of meatballs. Only way you’re getting 8 meatballs out of this is if you make them 16″ softball sized.

THE PERFECT ITALIAN MEATBALLS
Recipe by Fabio Viviani

Cook time: 25 Minutes
Yield: 8 meatballs

1 lb. ground beef (90/10)
4 oz. whole milk ricotta cheese
1 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1 egg
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 shallots, minced
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
salt & fresh cracked pepper to taste
fresh parsley for garnish

Place all above ingredients in a medium sized bowl and mix thoroughly by hand until they are completely combined and the mixture is uniformly firm.

Coat your hands in olive oil, and using your hands form mixture into 3-4 oz. balls

Recipe suggests cooking them in marinara just like grandma used to do, but this idea doesn’t fly in my house because Mrs Ilk thinks it makes the sauce too greasy. So instead we roasted them at 350 for about 30 minutes. They came out perfect.

Once they’re out, pile them onto crusty bread, ladle over some marinara and top with a couple slices of provolone. Crank the oven up to broil and then broil for 5-7 minutes until the cheese is in that melted-but-not-yet messy phase. Enjoy!