By Hannah Lineberry, from her cookbook, The Good ‘Wich.

Hannah remembers me making these for team snacks after Water Polo tournaments! 🙂 You’ve had to have lived with three Water Polo players who swam on the off season to really understand how much water-soaked, chlorine-scented teenagers eat!

For normal folk, these sandwiches are not snacks, they are a hearty and filling meal-in-one—no sides needed. Hold on, my teenaged grandson is interjecting, and he objects. He says chips are always needed with a sub. Well, maybe if you are at Subway… (yes, Zade; I am rolling my eyes).

Just make these meatballs—Hannah makes darn good meatballs! Put them on a toasted bun—maybe toasted with a bit of my No-Garlic Garlic Bread spread—with a bit of marinara sauce, recipe below, or <sigh> with your favorite jarred sauce. Add a few slices of provolone* and a sprinkle of Parmesan*, then top with a few sliced olives and you will forget all about Subway! This meatball sub has some heft to it and plenty of real darn good flavor!

This is a good Family Cooking Night or Date Night recipe. There are multiple parts, and everyone can take one part. If you are lucky enough to have an extra person, they can wash the dishes as others prep and cook! If there’s another extra person, they can set the table and fill in where necessary 🙂

The first time you make these, make enough meatballs and marinara sauce to freeze. Then the second time you want Meatball Subs, they’ll be a lot easier to pull together—just open the freezer door!

*I didn’t know this! If a cheese is named after a city or country, it’s capitalized. Examples: Asiago, Brie, Camembert, Gouda, Gruyere, and Parmesan. Cheeses that aren’t capitalized include cheddar, feta, fontina, mozzarella and provolone—who knew! 🙂

These are really Hannah’s Meatball Subs now 🙂

Hannah’s Meatball Subs

Makes 8 Belly Busting Subs

INGREDIENTS

• 8 hoagie rolls
• 1 batch meatballs (recipe follows)
• 1 batch marinara sauce (recipe follows)
• 16 slices provolone cheese
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 8 oz sliced black olives

DIRECTIONS

1. Warm up a portion of the marinara sauce, enough for the number of sandwiches you are making today.
2. Simmer the cooked meatballs in the marinara sauce for abut 15 minutes or until heated through.
3. Preheat oven to broil.  Split hoagie rolls open, and place on baking sheet and broil until rolls are toasty, 2-3 minutes. 
4. Spoon some marinara sauce on each side of the roll.  Place meatballs on bottom side of hoagie roll. Sprinkle with Parmesan and top with provolone.
5. Return prepared sandwiches to broiler, and broil again until the cheese is all melty and bubbly, another 2-3 minutes. 
6. Remove sandwiches from broiler, and scatter sliced black olives over the sandwich filling.  Close the sandwich and enjoy!

Hannah’s Meatballs

• 1 stale sourdough baguette OR 2 cups unseasoned Panko bread crumbs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• ½ cup finely sliced fresh basil
• ¼ cup finely sliced fresh flat leaf parsley
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely diced
• 1 pound ground pork
• 2 pounds ground beef
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1-2 tablespoons olive oil

1. Tear the sourdough baguette it into pieces and place in food processor. Process the bread into rough, small breadcrumbs.  Do not process bread to a super fine crumb.  Put two cups of processed breadcrumbs into a large bowl.  Save remaining breadcrumbs for another recipe.
2. Pour buttermilk over the 2 cups of processed breadcrumbs, toss breadcrumbs with buttermilk, and let soak 5 minutes.  Add eggs, parmesan cheese, basil, parsley and garlic to breadcrumb mixture.  Gently toss to combine all ingredients.
3. Add ground pork and ground beef to the breadcrumb mixture.  Using a fork, gently mix meat into the breadcrumb mixture.  Make sure all ingredients are thoroughly combined, but do not overmix.
4. Preheat Oven to 350 degrees
5. Portion out meatball mixture into approx. 2 oz. pieces, or the size of an unshelled walnut.  Shape each portion into a ball and place on baking sheet.  (HINT: keeping your palm and finger slightly damp will help with this. The mixture won’t stick to damp hands).
6. Set a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Add 1-2 tablespoons olive oil to skillet, coating the bottom of skillet with oil.  Sear meatballs for 2-3 minutes on each side, rolling occasionally to brown each “side”. You will probably have to do this is several batches.  (HINT: If you are short on time, you can skip this step and go right to Step 7, just add 5 minutes to the cooking time. Your meatballs won’t have a nice coating on the outside, but…shortcuts are shortcuts and this is an involved recipe.)
7. Once all the meatballs have been seared, put them back on the baking sheet, and place in oven to cook for an additional 20 minutes, shaking the pan halfway through the cooking time to roll the meatballs around!
8. Cut one meatball in half to ensure they have cooked all the way through. If they have remove from oven and set aside until ready to use. If they haven’t return to oven for another 2-3 minutes.

Hannah’s Meatball Sub Marinara

Makes approximately 8 cups of sauce! Plenty to freeze for next time 🙂

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, finely diced
• 1 cup of onion, finely diced
• 2 28oz cans crushed tomatoes
• 1 can tomato paste
• ½ cup finely chopped fresh basil
• ½ cup finely chopped fresh parsley
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 3 bay leaves
• 8 oz dry red wine
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Place a large heavy pot, or Dutch oven over medium high heat.  Add oil to pot, and let oil come to temp. 
2. Add onion and garlic to hot oil, sauté until onion is golden brown, transparent, glossy and fragrant.  Season with salt and pepper. 
3. Add crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, basil, parsley, oregano and red pepper flakes, and bay leaces to onion mixture in the pot, stir to combine.  Bring to a boil.
4. Once sauce has come to a boil, reduce sauce to a simmer for 30 minutes then add in the red wine and simmer for another 30 minutes.
5. 15 minutes before making the Meatball Subs, place meatballs into hot marina sauce over a gentle simmer.

PHEW, this recipe took almost as long to enter as it might take to make! Enjoy your subs! May you have made enough for 3 or 4 meals 🙂