Makes 3 subs
Turkey meatballs (recipe follows)
Bread/buns of your choice; I used baguettes
1 red bell pepper, seeded, sliced thin, and cut into 1½ inch pieces
1 small onion, cut in half and then into thin slices
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
About a cup and a half tomato sauce (recipe follows or you may certainly substitute ready-made sauce in a jar)
Mozzarella slices
In a saucepan over medium heat, sauté the bell pepper and onion in a Tb of olive oil, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes until they’ve softened. Add salt and pepper to taste.
To make the meatballs:
1 lb ground turkey
½ cup quick oats (or bread crumbs)
½ a small onion, finely diced
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tsp each dried basil and oregano
½ tsp red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
Preheat the oven to 375.
Sauté the onion and garlic in a Tb of olive oil over medium heat for about 10 minutes until tender and slightly golden. Allow to cool. Using your hands, mix the onions in a bowl with the ground turkey, oats and seasonings until all of the ingredients are nicely incorporated. Form the meat mixture into nine meatballs.
In a skillet, brown the meatballs in a small bit of olive oil over medium heat for a couple of minutes on each side. I used a cast iron skillet because it can go directly from the stove into the oven, but if you don’t have one, you can certainly transfer your browned meatballs to an oven-safe baking dish. Put the meatballs, uncovered, in the oven and bake for about 18 minutes until they reach a temperature of 160 degrees and/or are no longer pink in the middle.
Quick Tomato Sauce:
1 28-oz can petite diced tomatoes
½ small onion, finely diced
4-6 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
½ tsp red pepper flakes
Olive oil
For the sauce, sauté the onion and garlic in a Tb of olive oil over medium heat for about 10 minutes until they soften. Add the canned tomatoes and the seasonings until the sauce starts to bubble, then reduce the heat to low and let simmer while you make the meatballs, stirring occasionally.
To assemble and finish the sandwiches:
Spread some of the tomato sauce on the bottom layer of your bread. Top with a third of the bell pepper-onion mix, and arrange three meatballs on top of that. Spoon more of the tomato sauce on top of the meatballs and top with mozzarella slices. Place the sandwich(es) under the broiler (500 degrees) in your oven with the bread open for about 3 minutes, until the cheese melts and just barely starts to brown, and the top piece of bread is nice and hot. Remove from the oven, top with the top piece of bread, and serve.