That's amóre Meatball Sub

When Sweet Thang says to me

"Mom, you make a mean Meatball Sub"

 that's amòre...

When Lyrical Teen vies for seconds

and eats 'til his belly's stuffed

that's amóre...

go with it people

When Drama Queen eats a meal

and not once jousts with her brothers

that's amóre...

When dear Mexi asks "what smells good"

then devours sans a chile

that's amóre...

are you singing along

When I draw inspiration from Giada

without fighting or even question

that's (simply gotta be) amóre!!!!

That's Amóre Meatball Sub

adapted sorta loosely from Everyday Italian by Giada de Laurentiis

makes ~40 meatballs (5-6 subs, depending on size of bread)

1 small red onion, grated on the large holes of a box grater

¼ c. parsley, chopped

1 large egg

3 Tbs. ketchup

5 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp. sea salt

¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper

2/3 c. freshly grated Parmesan

¼ c. fresh bread crumbs

1 tsp. Italian seasoning

18 oz. ground beef

olive oil, for frying

26 oz. marinara sauce

small Italian rolls, as needed

provolone cheese, optional

Whisk the red onion (with some of the juices it emitted during grating), parsley, egg, ketchup, garlic, salt and pepper together in a large bowl.  Stir in the Parmesan, bread crumbs, and Italian seasoning.  Add the ground beef and squish it all together with your hands.  

Line a sheet try with foil and scoop mixture out by the tablespoon.  Roll into ball with your hands and line them up on the lined tray.  Once they are all rolled, heat enough oil in a deep-sided pan to come about ¾ of the way up the side of a meatball.  Heat oil until it shimmers and ripples, then carefully lower as many meatballs into the pan that will fit comfortably.  Leave enough space between them so that they can move and be flipped and not lower the temperature of the oil too drastically. Cook until meatballs are golden all the way around, ~5 minutes.

In the meantime, have another large, deep pan on the stove over medium-low heat with your marinara sauce heating in it.  As each meatball is done, lift out of oil with a slotted spoon or strainer (or fish spat, like I use), let as much of the grease fall back into the pan as possible, then lower the meatball into the marinara sauce.  Repeat until all the meatballs are in the marinara.  

Lower heat and simmer very gently for 5-10 minutes.  Split your Italian rolls and nestle in as many meatballs as you like.  Top with a little provolone if you like.

If you want to make these in advance, simply assemble, then wrap in butcher paper or foil and refrigerate.  Reheat in a 350°F oven for ~15 minutes.

"When the moon hits your eye
Like a big-a pizza pie
That's amóre...
When the world seems to shine
Like you've had too much wine
That's amóre..."

Please 'scusi  my overly judicious use of "ó" throughout this post.  I cannot stressa enougha zi pronunciation en Italiano!  And please excuse that last sentence.  Obviously I do not know Italian.  But in my dreams...I do. Che il bel sandwich di polpetta di carne!

*I'm sharing this post with:

*Italian Fest @ Seaside Simplicity