Last Night's Dinner: The Albert - A Meatball Sub

Not sure if I posted this last night or not. I made these sub sandwiches from scratch - the bread and all. We all loved it. My son ate the last 1/4 of the sandwich warmed up today. He adored it. Never seen him dive into anything like this before. What a hit!

The Albert, A Meatball Sub

for meatballs:
2 eggs
1 tbsp dried basil
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
1 cup Hungry Girl Fiber 1 breading*
4 cloves garlic, minced**
1 lb ground organic beef
For buns:***
1/4 cup warm water
1/4 tsp yeast****
2 cups high-gluten flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 pkg sweetener*****
cornmeal, for dusting
2 tbsp olive oil, for brushing
1 tbsp sesame seeds
For sauce:
4 cups ground tomatoes (I used 1-28 oz can so I made 1/2 the recipe)
1/4 cup tomato paste (I used 1-6 oz can)
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp sugar
2 tbsp garlic, minced
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
For topping:
1-1/2 cups shredded cheese
dried oregano
dried basil

For buns: I put all the ingredients in the bread pan according to the manufacturer. Set it for dough cycle. Once the cycle was over, I removed the dough from the pan and rolled it out a bit into a 10" circle. Let it rise for 1/2 hour and then I baked it on a silpat-lined sheet pan at 450 degrees F for 10 minutes. Removed it and let it cool for a little while, while I made the rest of the dish.

Originally the recipe called for making the dough in a standing mixer. Once the dough was over, you put the dough on a cornmeal-dusted work surface and rolled the dough out into a flat round approx 6" wide (I thought this was too small). Brushed with olive ol and sprinkled with sesame seeds. Place dough on sheet pan, cur round into 4 equal wedges, but not cut all the way through, and baked for 10 minutes until golden brown. Do not over-bake as the bread will go back into the oven to finish cooking.

For sauce: Mix ingredients in a bowl, whisk well and set aside.

For the meatballs: Preheat oven to 550 degrees F. In a medium mixing bowl, add the eggs and whisk. Add oregano, basil, pepper, salt, crumbs and garlic and mix well. Add the ground beef and combine well. Using hands, or a 2 oz scoop, roll meat into 1-1/2 to 2" balls and place on a baking sheet. Use a baking sheet that has a lip on it, as the meatballs will create a lot of moisture. Bake for approx 20 minutes or until the balls are sizzling and brown on the outside but still nice and pink inside.

For The Albert:

Cut buns in half, horizontally. Place bun halves side-by-side on a baking sheet (lined with silpat liner). Cut 5-6 meatballs in half and pile on buns. Ladle approx 1 cup of sauce on top of meatballs. Put as much grated cheese (mozzarella) on top that will stay and lightly sprinkle with basil and oregano. Put the sheet in the oven and bake until cheese has melted.

Serve, cut into wedges, with potato chips.

Risa's notes:
* Original recipe calls for 1 cup bread crumbs. I used breading (actually a coating mixture from Hungry Girl's 200 Under 200 book) that was adapted from the Hungry Girl book.
** Original recipe called for 1/4 cup chopped garlic. I thought it might make these

way too garlicy.
*** Make buns an hour or two before you make the rest of the recipe.
**** I have a bread machine and I adapted the recipe for the ABM. I used 1 tsp SAF yeast (1/2 tsp per cup of flour), 2 cups of bread flour,
***** Original called for 1/2 tsp sugar. I used Truvia sweetener, which is made from the Stevia plant.

Also, I put the meatballs in the sauce and cooked them that way. If you wish, cook them the classic way - browning them in a pan and then adding the sauce and letting it simmer until cooked through. I cooked them in the sauce to cut the fat and calories.

Serves 4
adapted from Back Road Pizza, Santa Fe, NM