Making homemade meatball boats is a rite of passage in Italian families. I learned how to make it myself from my mother-in-law. Her recipe calls for whole meat sauce, so I make meatballs in the slow cooker when I’m in a hurry throughout the week. It’s not an easy dinner, but it’s simple and requires few ingredients, so if you make a lot like I do, you can feed a crowd with meatballs.
Materials:
- 1 lb. Ground beef
- 1 large egg
- 1/3 C Breadcrumbs
- 1/4 C Parmesan cheese
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons marinara sauce
- 8 mini hoagie rolls
- 12 slices of Asiago cheese
How to make meatball boats:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Prepare a baking sheet with nonstick spray.
- Add ground meat, eggs, bread crumbs, garlic, Parmesan cheese, garlic, and parsley to a bowl.
- Mix the ingredients by hand.
- Add salt and pepper.
- Start making meatballs using an ice cream scoop.
- Set it aside.
- Add oil to a frying pan and heat over medium heat.
- Place the meatballs one at a time into the heated pan.
- Cook for about 5 minutes or until browned on all sides.
- Place the meatballs on a baking sheet lined with baking paper in the oven.
- Cook for 12 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and set aside.
- Cut an oval shape from the top of the roll, leaving about 0.5 inch around the edges and sides. It’s a scoop, but it doesn’t cut all the way to the bottom half of the roll.
- Cut out the top of the roll paper with a knife.
- Place the rolls on a baking sheet.
- Place a slice of cheese in the cavity.
- Return to oven and bake for 8 minutes.
- Add 2 tbsp. Spread the marinara on top of the cheese.
- Place 3 meatballs on top of the cheese.
- Add marinara to meatballs.
- Add grated Parmesan cheese to marinara.
- Return to oven and bake for 6-8 minutes.