Making Italian food with oregano is an obvious choice, so I figured I would just roll with it. I always use fresh oregano when making meatballs, so to me, making them for my oregano feature was an obvious choice as well. Now what business does a vegetarian chick have making meatballs? Well this vegetarian chick also happens to be part Italian and she also grew up watching her mom make meatballs a couple times a month (many of which I ate in the years before I became a vegetarian), so it's safe to assume I know what I'm doing. I've gotten plenty of affirmations over the years that I do in fact know what I'm doing from people who have eaten this vegetarian's meatballs, so not to worry - you can trust this recipe.
I added the oregano to the meatballs and the sauce for this recipe, so you can really taste everything it has to offer. Fresh oregano has a pretty strong flavor and some people shy away from using it, but I love it so I try to use it whenever I can, since I am growing the Italian variety and have it on hand.
A few things to note: This recipe is for three meatball subs and one mushroom sub, since obviously I don't eat meat and therefore needed something to eat myself and always like to include a vegetarian option when I'm making anything with meat. You could make all mushroom subs or you could make all meatball subs - or half and half! It's up to you and what makes sense in your household. There is oregano in the sauce, like I said, so you'll still get the flavor even if you do the mushroom version. If you're going to make more mushroom subs, use one portobello cap per sub.
Also, you'll see in the final pictures that there are only two meatball subs and I said I was making three. One was for the boyfriend, one for my dad, and I sent my dad home with one as leftovers for lunch the next day. Just didn't want you to be confused!
Lastly, I think it's important to use lean ground beef when making meatballs. I've made the mistake in the past (because I honestly had no idea what I was looking for in the ground beef section of the grocery store!) of buying the stuff with more fat content, and those meatballs did not turn out so well. I've found that the more fat, the more the balls fall apart and get crumbly when you're cooking them. It's less messy if they stay in their neat ball shapes and I've heard they taste great, so just take my word for it on this one. Save the fattier meat for burgers!
Alrighty- let's get cookin'!
Oregano Meatball (or Mushroom) Subs
Servings: 3 meatball subs + 1 mushroom sub
Prep. time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Ingredients:
For the Sauce:
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 sweet onion, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
2 teaspoons fresh Italian oregano, finely chopped
1 28 ounce can petite diced tomatoes
3 rounded teaspoons of tomato paste
1 1/2 teaspoon grey or sea salt
1 1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
For the Mushrooms:
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 small clove garlic, minced
1 portobello mushroom cap, sliced
1 teaspoon butter
1/4 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
Pinch of salt
For the Meatballs:
1 pound ground lean ground beef (I used 93/7)
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup plain bread crumbs
1/4 cup onion, finely chopped
1 egg
1 garlic clove
2 teaspoons fresh Italian oregano, finely chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
4 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
For the Subs:
4 sub rolls, sliced length-wise
2 teaspoons butter
1 clove garlic, sliced through the center
2 teaspoons grated parmesan cheese
8 slices provolone cheese
The sauce is going to take the longest to cook, so start with that.
Set a medium sized pot or Dutch oven on the stove over medium-low heat. Drizzle in the EVOO and add the minced garlic.
Let the garlic cook in the oil for two minutes and then add the chopped onions.
Let the onions cook on their own for about three minutes and then add the peppers. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon each of salt & pepper, as well as one teaspoon of oregano. Let that cook for 15 minutes.
(Isn't this beautiful?! One of my favorite sights when cooking - the red, green, and white look so pretty together! Like the Italian flag!)
After 15 minutes, add the whole can of diced tomatoes and stir to work all the veggies into the sauce. Next, add the tomato paste and mix well to combine it into the rest of the sauce. Make sure there are no chunks. Once the tomato paste has been fully incorporated into the sauce, stir in the last teaspoon of oregano.
Allow the sauce to come to a light bubble, stir, and reduce the heat to low. Let simmer so that some of the liquid can cook out while you prepare the mushrooms, meatballs, and sub rolls. Remember to stir periodically.
Next, make the mushrooms. (Skip this step if you're only making this meal for meat-eaters.)
Place a non-stick skillet with one tablespoon of oil in it over medium-low heat. Add the minced garlic and let that cook for two minutes.
Add the mushroom slices to the pan and drizzle the top of them with two more tablespoons oil, then add the butter and sprinkle with the pepper. Stir them around.
Let them cook for about five minutes and then add the salt.
Let them cook for three more minutes and then remove them from the heat.
Now for the meatballs! First, pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Also, go ahead and heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add two teaspoons of EVOO to it now so that you don't have to touch the oil bottle once your hands are all meaty.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine all of the ingredients (except the oil) and grate the clove of garlic into it. Make sure your hands are freshly washed and then use them to combine all of the ingredients with the meat. Once all of the ingredients are worked into the meat, begin taking chunks the size of golf balls and rolling them into meatballs. You want enough to have four for every sub, so if you're making three subs, you will need 12 meatballs.
Make all the balls and then place them in the pan at the same time so they cook all at the same rate. As soon as all the balls are in the pan, wash your hands.
Once the bottom of the meatballs start forming a brown crust, turn them over using a spatula.
While the balls are cooking, drizzle two teaspoons of EVOO into a baking dish and move the pan around so that the bottom inside becomes coated.
Once the meatballs have cooked for about 7-8 minutes, remove them from the skillet and place them in the baking dish. Place them in the oven to cook for 15 minutes.
While the meatballs are baking, prepare your sub rolls. Place all of the sliced rolls on a baking sheet. Dig out the insides of one side on each of the rolls and discard. Spread 1/2 teaspoon of butter on the flat side of each roll. Put them in the oven to melt the butter and lightly toast the bread - about three minutes.
Remove from the oven and rub the cut side of your garlic clove onto the buttered side of each sub roll. You should be able to use a half side of the garlic for two rolls.
Sprinkle the buttered side with 1/2 teaspoon each of permesan cheese.
Place back in the oven to melt the cheese. Remove after two minutes.
Arrange two slices of provolone cheese on the inside of each sub roll and put back in the oven one last time. Let the cheese melt slightly and remove after two minutes.
By this time, the meatballs should be about done. Remove them from the oven after they've baked for 15 minutes.
Now to assemble our samis. Scoop one large spoonful of sauce into each roll over the melted provolone cheese.
Then place four meatballs in each sub over the sauce and place the mushrooms in the last roll if you've cooked the mushrooms.
Scoop another large spoonful of sauce over the balls (and mushrooms). Serve immediately! You might need a bib for this one - it's kinda messy! Salute!
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