Great Eats with Petes

This past Sunday I spent my afternoon at the Chelsea Market. I brought home a bunch of goodies from the various shops which, I will tell you more about later. One of the things I picked up was some freshly ground pork and beef from Dickson’s Farmstead Meats. Their meat is sourced from local farms and butchered on site I bought the beef and pork with the intention of making meatballs and so I did. I used an oven method to cook my meatballs, which I had never done before. They were easier and quicker to make, with the same results as frying them in the pan but without the fried taste.

Meatballs

1 lb ground beef

1 lb ground pork

1/4 cup breadcrumbs

1 egg

1/4 cup grated cheese (I use Pecorino Romano)

1 tablespoon garlic, minced

1 tablespoon parsley, minced

1 tablespoon basil, minced

Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. In a large bowl, mix all of the ingredients together. Roll the meat into balls that are larger than golf balls but smaller than tennis balls. Place the meatballs in a muffin pan. I was able to get 16 out of this amount of meat with these size meatballs. Bake in oven for ten minutes. After ten minutes turn the meatballs over (or 180 degrees). The best way to do this is with a spoon. Bake for another ten minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.

Tomato Sauce

1-2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon garlic, minced

1 28oz can of crushed tomatoes

1 tablespoon fresh basil, sliced

3 tablespoons grated cheese

Salt and Pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil in a small pot or saute pan. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Add the tomatoes and stir. Add in the basil, grated cheese, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil.

To assemble the meatball subs

Bread (Italian or whichever you would like to use, I used an Organic Italian Rustic Bread from Amy’s Breads, another goody)

Meatballs

Sauce

Mozzarella (optional)

Grated Cheese (optional)

Slice the bread in half. I have had better luck not slicing the bread all the way through, the meatballs stay in the bread better that way. Slice the meatballs in half, add as many as you would like to your sandwich. I used four for each sandwich. Top with sauce and then grated cheese. Serve and enjoy.

You can add mozzarella to the top of the meatballs to make it a meatball parmesan (parmigiana) sub. If so just bake it in the oven until the cheese has melted.

(These recipes made 4 subs with sauce left over.)