We all grew up watching friends, we all had our favourite episodes and everyone definitely had their favourite character, mine was Joey and he is the inspiration behind my next blog/recipe!
I call this sandwich simply the 'Joey Tribbiani' and it comes from the episode named 'The one with the ride along' where Joey turns into Ross' hero when he saves him from a 'would be' bullet! Joey throws himself in front of Ross when he hears the gunshot, however, Joey was actually trying to save his sandwich which he called 'the greatest sandwich in the world!' haha (see video below for evidence)
What You'll Need (Serves 2)
For the Meatballs
- 250g of lean mince
-1/2 onion finely diced - smaller the better
- Black Pepper
(some people add 1 egg and breadcrumbs to bind everything together but I didn't and it worked)
For the Marinara Sauce
- 500ml of passata
- 1 green/red chilli - sliced (remove seeds to reduce heat if you want)
- 2 garlic cloves
- oregano
- a sprinkle of sugar
- salt and black pepper to season - I use lots of black pepper but taste as you go!
Method
- combine the mince, black pepper and onion and mix together
- gather some of the mixture and create your first meatball, go for the size of a ping pong ball
- you should be able to make 10 meatballs
- add oil to a pan and place each of the meatballs in the pan, rotate regularly for even cooking
- make sure each side has been seared
- cook the meatballs for about 8 - 10minutes to ensure fully cooked ;)
While the meatballs are cooking you an make the sauce
- Add the passata to a wok and season with salt and pepper and bring to boil
- add the chilli and 2 crushed garlic cloves to the sauce and bring down to a simmer
- add some salt and black pepper
- add a generous amount of oregano
- add a dash of sugar (at this stage taste the sauce - if it is too hot add a little more sugar)
- when the sauce is to your liking add the NOW Seared and cooked meatballs to the sauce
- allow the meatballs to cook in the sauce for 10 minutes
After 10 minutes of cooking and just before you add your meatballs and sauce to a roll/bread of your choice add a slice of cheese to the bread - it is heaven! (I used a baguette but you could use a soft roll/ciabatta/focaccia)
Sit back, take a photo of your creation and tuck in!
Don't want bread? These meatballs go great with spaghetti, rice, pasta or jut=st on their own with cheese melted over - yum!!
Enjoy