3 Recipes in 1 video! You can prepare everything in advance and freeze. You can of course make the meatballs and buy your favorite store-bought buns and marinara sauce to make this even easier and faster. Enjoy!
0:00 Intro
0:35 Rolls
4:28 Meatballs
7:03 Marinara Sauce
9:26 Assembly
Recipe
Makes 10 mini size subs and about 50-55 mini meatballs (If you double the dough recipe, you should have the perfect amount of meatballs)
Ingredients:
**Dough**
100g (warm) Water
50g Greek Yogurt
15g Honey
20g Olive Oil
3g Yeast
220g Bread Flour
5g Salt
**Meatballs**
1 LB Ground Beef (I used 93% Lean 7% Fat)
½ LB Ground Pork
1 Medium Onion (about 150g)
1 TBSP Butter
3 Cloves Garlic Finely Grated (about 15g)
½ Cup Fresh Parsley Finely Chopped (about 35g)
60g (about ¼ Cup) Greek Yogurt (I used Siggi’s 0% fat)
1 tsp Salt
½ tsp Black Pepper
2 OZ Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese Finely Grated
2 eggs
30g (about ⅓ cup) Cup Panko Breadcrumbs
1 TBSP Balsamic Vinegar (NOT glaze)
Oil for Frying
**Marinara Sauce**
2 TBSP Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Medium Onion (about 150g)
4-5 Cloves Garlic Finely Chopped (about 25g)
2 TBSP Tomato Paste
24 OZ Passata (Strained Tomatoes)
⅓ Cup Water
¼ Cup Dry Red Wine
1 tsp Salt
½ tsp Black Pepper
1/2 Cup Fresh Basil (about 20g)
2 TBSP Fresh Oregano Chopped (about 4g)
1 tsp (or more or less) Sugar (if needed)
Hello everybody and welcome or welcome back to Sipping Out. Today I’m making one of my all-time favorite comfort foods, meatball subs. Now, I’m not Italian by birth, but definitely by heart. And after tasting my meatballs, you might just believe I was Italian in a past life. While you can absolutely use your favorite marinara sauce and rolls from the store, I’m going to show you how I make everything from scratch today. So, let’s get started. We’re going to start with what takes the longest, the rolls. If you’ve seen my French onion buns recently, you’ll recognize the dough because it’s the same exact recipe. It’s easy, versatile, and hits that sweet spot between soft and chewy, which is ideal for holding all that saucy meatball goodness. To make the dough, add warm water, honey, Greek yogurt, yeast, olive oil, bread flour, and salt straight into the bowl of a stand mixer. You might notice I don’t proof the yeast first, and that’s because I almost never do as long as my yeast is fresh. [Music] Just throw everything in and let the mixer knead on medium high speed for about 10 to 12 minutes. Once the dough is smooth and elastic, cover the bowl and let it rise in a warm spot for 1 to two hours or until it’s doubled in size. This would be a perfect time to get working on the meatballs and the sauce. So, if you’re making everything on the same day, skip to the next segment and come back here when the dough is ready to be shaped. Once the dough has doubled, divide it into 10 equal pieces and shape them into balls. [Music] You’re going to let them rest briefly for 15 to 20 minutes under a damp towel. For this particular recipe, I’m going to flatten each ball into a small oval. Roll it up into a log, pinch the seams, and taper the ends just slightly. If the dough feels a little bit sticky, use a very small amount of bench flour. [Music] [Music] Place the log. dogs seamside down on a parchment line baking sheet. For the final proofing, cover and let them rise again for about 45 minutes to an hour or until puffy. At this time, make sure to preheat the oven to 425° F. Right before baking, use a very sharp knife to make a shallow slit along the top of each roll. Optionally, spray the tops with a little water and cover the entire sheet with another inverted baking sheet. This creates and traps the steam and helps the bread rise beautifully in the oven. Bake for 10 minutes covered and then another 10 to 12 minutes uncovered until golden brown. [Music] Moving on to the meatballs. Start by finely dicing an onion and microwaving it with a tablespoon of butter for about 6 to 8 minutes. This softens and partially cooks the onions for a better flavor and texture, but you can of course do this in a frying pan on the stove. Let that cool while you prep everything else such as garlic, fresh parsley, and of course, the king of all cheeses, parano. [Music] And here is the list of all the ingredients. As always, the exact amounts are listed in the description box below. In a large mixing bowl, combine all of these ingredients and mix thoroughly until everything is well incorporated. [Music] [Music] And before you start rolling the meatballs, here’s a little tip. Take a tiny amount of the meat mixture and microwave it for 30 seconds or so, or until fully cooked. This way, you can taste test and check for the seasoning before committing to the whole batch. if it tastes good to you. And then it’s time to form the mini meatballs by gently rolling them in your hands. You should get about 50 meatballs this size from this recipe. [Music] [Music] Next, heat a skillet with a little oil and sear the meatballs in batches. [Music] You just want to get that beautiful brown crust on the outside. And they don’t need to be fully cooked at this stage. So, take them out of the pan as soon as they’re browned. [Music] [Music] Finally, for the marinara sauce, chop some more onions and garlic and grab some fresh basil and oregano if you have them growing in your garden. In the same pan that you cook the meatballs, add a bit more olive oil and saute the onions over medium heat, about 5 minutes. Then add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds before stirring in the tomato paste. Now you want to let it cook for a few minutes as this key step will mellow out that raw tomato flavor. Next, add a splash of red wine, salt, and pepper, and cook until the wine has mostly evaporated. At this point, you can pour in your patada. And this is the one I’m using today. You can rinse out the jar with a bit of water and add that, too. [Music] [Music] Finally, add the fresh herbs and let it simmer on low for 20 to 30 minutes. [Music] After all the flavors have melted together, taste and adjust the seasoning. I usually find that a little sugar helps balance the tartness, but some tomatoes are more acidic than others, so be sure to adjust to your liking. Once your sauce is perfectly seasoned, gently add the brown meatballs and cook for another 10 minutes or so, covered, until they’re fully cooked through and juicy. [Music] Now for the fun and easy part, assembling our mini meatball subs. Slice each roll down in the center. Toast them if you like. Then stuff with your juicy meatballs. I like to add those cute mini mozzarella balls in the center, but you can of course melt a slice of proolone cheese instead to add another layer of flavor. Serve them warm with extra sauce on the side and watch them disappear in seconds. These mini meatball subs are the perfect blend of homemade comfort and crowd-pleasing flavor. They’re easy to make ahead, freezer friendly, and just as good reheated. [Music] If you enjoyed this episode, please like, share, and subscribe for more bite-size recipes made for entertaining. Thanks for watching and I’ll see you in the next one.