They say the way to a man's heart is through his belly. Well when better to pass through than on Valentines Day? When best to show it's not just a day for girls, it's not just about dainty candle lit dinners for 2 - it can be about hand held food that covers your face in Love Red sauce and leaves you licking your fingers after! Yeah, you probably guessed this isn't one for first dates.....
Inspired by Subway's Meatball Marinara and their BMT I created a pre -valentino meatball sub for hubz and I. The beauty of this is it's really simple to make, it can suit lunch or dinner, you can homemake as much or as little as you like, you can make it as spicy as you like and it's all ready in under 30 minutes!
First start my making your tomato based sauce. Fling in what you really like here- I'm talking chillies, spices, garlic, vinegar, beef stock....the lot! Anything goes really but for mine I chopped two small red onions, added half a red chilli, 1 large glove of garlic crushed and allowed these to soften for a few minutes in a small amount of oil. To this I then added 1 tin of chopped tomatoes, half a tablespoon of sugar, half a beef stock cube, 1 tablespoon of wostershire sauce and 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar. Let this simmer for 10 minutes.
Whilst the sauce is simmering place 12 good quality beef meatballs into the oven at 190 for 20 minutes (turning half way through). You can make your own meatballs if you have time and really want to impress!
Return to your sauce, taste it. Does it need anything more? At this point I added a little salt to mine and "the kicker", Scotch Bonnet Sauce by the The Whiskey Sauce Co. I went for medium heat on this but as I said, you can really crank it up should you wish.... ;)
Just before the meatballs are due to come out the oven, slice your baguette and melt some strong cheddar cheese on one side in the oven also. You then want to layer the baguette with some deli meat- I chose Spanish chorizo and salami, 2 slices of each on each baguette.
Now assemble! Warning: in just a minute your going to get messy! So don't worry about prettying it up. I served this with sliced pickled gerkins but why not add homemade coleslaw or fries?
Whatever you cook this Valentine's Day- enjoy it and don't forget your napkin!
Big love x
