MEATBALL SANDWICH RECIPE WITH MOZZARELLA AND TOMATO SALSA
Ingredients
- 1 small onion, peeled and finely diced
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely sliced
- Olive oil, for frying
- 1 tsp dried chilli flakes
- 500g minced beef
- 75g fresh breadcrumbs
- 3-4 tbsp milk4 submarine or hot dog rolls
- 2 balls of mozzarella cheese, torn
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Recipe
- First prepare the meatballs. Sauté the onion and garlic with seasoning in a hot oiled frying pan for about 5 minutes until soft and lightly coloured, adding the chilli flakes after a minute or two. Place the mince in a large bowl and add seasoning. Put the breadcrumbs in a separate bowl and moisten with the milk. Add seasoning, then stir the breadcrumbs and onion mixture into the mince and combine well. With wet hands, shape the mince mixture into large balls about 4cm wide. Transfer to a lightly greased plate or tray and chill for 30 minutes until firm.
- Put a little oil in a frying pan and cook the meatballs over a medium-low heat with a dash of oil for about 10 minutes until coloured on the outside and cooked all the way through. Set aside to rest.
- Meanwhile, combine all the salsa ingredients and mix well. Leave to one side.
- Heat a grill until medium hot. Slice the bread rolls in half and toast the insides for a couple of minutes until golden. Remove from the grill and sit the meatballs on half the sliced rolls, pressing them down into the bread. Spoon over any cooking juices from the meatball pan. Top the meatballs with mozzarella and place under the grill to melt the cheese. Once melted, spoon the salsa on top and sandwich together with the remaining halves of the toasted rolls.
- Serve while still warm with any extra salsa on the side.
2.
Ultimate spaghetti carbonara
Ingredients :
- 100g pancetta
- 50g pecorino cheese
- 50g Parmesan
- 2 plump garlic cloves, peeled and left whole
- 50g unsalted butter
- 350g spaghetti (De Cecco is very good)
Recipe
- Put a large saucepan of water on to boil. Finely chop the pancetta, having first removed any rind. Finely grate both cheeses and mix them together. Beat the eggs in a medium bowl, season with a little freshly grated black pepper and set everything aside.
- Add 1 tsp salt to the boiling water, add the spaghetti and when the water comes back to the boil, cook at a constant simmer, covered, for 10 minutes or until al dente (just cooked).
- Squash the garlic with the blade of a knife, just to bruise it. While the spaghetti is cooking, fry the pancetta with the garlic. Drop the butter into a large wide frying pan or wok and, as soon as the butter has melted, tip in the pancetta and garlic. Leave these to cook on a medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring often, until the pancetta is golden and crisp. The garlic has now imparted its flavour, so take it out with a slotted spoon and discard.
- Keep the heat under the pancetta on low.When the pasta is ready lift it from the water with a pasta fork or tongs and put it in the frying pan with the pancetta (see left). Don’t worry if a little water drops in the pan as well (you want this to happen) and don’t throw the rest of the pasta water away yet.
- Mix most of the cheese in with the eggs, keeping a small handful back for sprinkling over later. Take the pan of spaghetti and pancetta off the heat. Now quickly pour in the eggs and cheese and, using the tongs or a long fork, lift up the spaghetti so it mixes easily with the egg mixture, which thickens but doesn’t scramble, and everything is coated. Add extra pasta cooking water to keep it saucy (several tablespoons should do it). You don’t want it wet, just moist. Season with a little salt, if needed.
- Use a long-pronged fork to twist the pasta on to the serving plate or bowl. Serve immediately with a little sprinkling of the remaining cheese and a grating of black pepper. If the dish does get a little dry before serving, splash in some more hot pasta water and the glossy sauciness will be revived.