Meatball sub
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Tuck into this decadent meatball sub recipe – just the thing to help cheer on Italy in the Euros. Make sure you put plenty of time and care into the marinara sauce, the longer it's bubbling away on the stove, the better the results will be. Read Danny's guide to snacking through the Euros for more football-food goodness. The sauce is best made the day before then kept overnight to deepen the flavour, but feel free to make it on the day if short on time.
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 750g of beef mince
- 750g of pork mince
- 3 large eggs
- 100g of breadcrumbs, fresh
- 2 tbsp of fresh herbs , such as thyme, sage and rosemary, finely chopped
- salt
- pepper
Marinara sauce
- 500g of plum tomatoes , quartered and deseeded
- 800g of tinned chopped tomatoes , good quality
- 1 onion , finely sliced
- 3 garlic cloves , finely sliced
- 75ml of extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes
- salt
- pepper
To serve
- 4 white sub rolls, long, cut in half
- Parmesan , for grating over the subs
Method
1
First take a saucepan and place over a medium heat. Add half the olive oil, then add the onion, garlic, oregano, chilli and a pinch of salt and pepper. Stir through, reduce the heat and sweat the vegetables off for 10–15 minutes, until they become very soft
2
Add the tomatoes and the rest of the oil and cook for a further 15 minutes before adding the tinned tomatoes
3
Continue to simmer and cook for at least another hour, but 2 is better, returning often to stir
4
When ready, check the seasoning and gently blitz using a hand blender to smooth the sauce out, but only a little. If you whizz it too hard, the sauce will become bright orange (in my experience)
5
While the sauce is bubbling away, make the meatballs. Place all of your ingredients in a bowl and mix together thoroughly with your hands. Check for seasoning by pinching off a small piece of meat and frying it off quickly. If it needs some more salt and pepper, mix a little bit more in
6
Taking a small piece at a time, start to roll the mixture into balls, roughly the size of golf balls. You should make 30 meatballs, give or take. Place on a lightly greased tray and keep in the fridge for 30 minutes
7
Meanwhile, heat your oven up to 220°C/gas mark 8
8
When ready, place the tray with meatballs into the oven
9
After 10 minutes, turn your meatballs over and leave them to bake for another 5 minutes or so before taking them out and finishing to heat and poach in the tomato sauce for another 5 minutes
10
To serve, slice your subs halfway through, plonk 3–4 meatballs into each roll and spoon over a generous helping of tomato sauce
11
Finish by grating over plenty of Parmesan cheese and make sure your guests have napkins to mop up with. Wash down with some of that ice-cold saison
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Meatball sub
