Meatball Sandwich
Taking full advantage of the full abundance of summer produce with this zucchini and tomato sauce meatball sandwich recipe for a fine way to bid those warmer days adieu.
Servings 4
Calories 722kcal
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 400 grams / 14 ounces minced beef
- 1 teaspoon chipotle powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika powder
- 1 egg
- 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- ½ cup marinara sauce
Sandwich
- 1 medium focaccia loaf
- 1 medium zucchini
- 3 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 40 grams / 2 ¾ tablespoons butter melted
- 1 teaspoon wholegrain mustard
- 40 grams Gloucester or Provolone cheese sliced
- 30 grams buffalo mozzarella sliced thickly
Instructions
Meatballs
- Place the minced beef, chipotle powder, smoked paprika, 1 egg and finely chopped garlic in a bowl and combine until well mixed.
- Roll into 8 equally sized meatballs and set aside.
- Preheat the grill to 220C/430F.
Sandwich
- Meanwhile, heat a large frying pan on medium high with a teaspoon of olive oil.
- Thinly slice the zucchini into quarters and then each quarter into thirds and place into the frying pan and add 1 portion of the finely chopped garlic therein.
- Cook until browned, but still firm, approximately 2 minutes either side.
- Remove from the heat and set aside.
- Slice your focaccia in half and lay the zucchini on the top half, topping with the sliced gloucester cheese.
- Place the butter into a small ramekin and melt for 25 seconds in the microwave. Add the wholegrain mustard and remaining finely chopped garlic, stirring to combine evenly.
- Brush the garlic butter over the bottom half of your sandwich.
- Place under the grill for 5 minutes or until the cheese has melted and the base is golden. Remove and set aside.
- Meanwhile, add a little more olive oil into the frying pan and sprinkle the salt evenly over all the meatballs before placing into the frying pan.
- Cook evenly on medium high heat for 3 minutes each side until it is cooked in the center.
- Add the tomato sauce and continue cooking for a further minute until well heated.
- Remove from the heat and carefully spoon the meatballs onto the base of your sandwich, spooning over a little tomato sauce and then topping with a slice of buffalo mozzarella.
- Return to the oven for 2 minutes to melt.
- Remove and allow to cool for 5 minutes.
- Slice and serve.
Notes
- Zucchini: Fresh grilled zucchini adds a balance to the richness of the meatballs, sauce and cheese. You could replace with peppers or some greens like peppery rocket.
- Cheese: Two types of cheeses are used here, a mild provolone or gloucester cheese and a melty mozzarella. A smoked gouda or applewood would be superb here. The melty mozzarella is perfect on top of the meatballs.
- Foccacia: Thick airy foccacia soaks up all the sauce. Any thick bread would work here such as ciabatta.
- Homemade foccacia: If you want to make the bread, this recipe halved is the perfect amount for the bread needed for the sandwich.
- Homemake the tomato sauce: If you want to homemake your tomato sauce; place 1 x 400 gram/12 ounce can of tomatoes, 1 clove finely chopped garlic, fresh herbs of your choice (rosemary goes particularly well with this), a pinch of sugar, a teaspoon of salt and a little olive oil in a saucepan and heat, simmering for 30 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool to allow the flavors to fully infuse.
- Customize the sandwich: Feel free to add toppings like sliced peppers, onions, or a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese for an extra burst of flavor.
- Make the meatballs ahead of time: You can prepare the meatballs ahead of time and refrigerate them until you're ready to assemble the sandwich.
Nutrition
Calories: 722kcal