By Jacob Mathias

Hello fellow eaters. I’m feeling hungry today and I need something that’s going to stick to my bones and warm me in all the right places. But it’s summer- so I also want something fresh. Something bright. Something new.

So today we’re going to make homemade meatballs in a scratch made marinara sauce. A lot of people don’t like making scratch red sauce. Due in large part to the fact that a lot of people believe it takes 6 hours of simmering and splattering all over your stove. This fortunately is not true. Marinara can be made in 15 minutes with just a few ingredients.

Then we’ll use our awesome sauce to smother some awesome meatballs and crusty bread.

For the Sauce:

You will need:
6 tomatoes chopped
3 basil leaves cut into thin strips.
½ tsp red chill flake
2 cloves garlic cloves
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp olive oil

Heat olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Add in tomatoes and simmer, stirring often for 15 minutes. Add in herbs and season with salt and pepper to taste.

For the meatballs:

You will need:

1 lb. ground beef
1 lb. ground pork
1 egg
¼ cup milk
¼ cup ketchup
2 teaspoon oregano
2 tsp chopped parsley
2 cloves chopped garlic
1 tsp salt
2 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
¾ cup bread crumbs

Combine all meatball ingredients. Roll with hands into 1 inch balls and place on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until center of the meatball reaches 160 degrees.

Place 5 or 6 meatballs in an Italian baguette and top with slices of provolone cheese. Ladle sauce over and bake entire sandwich at 350 for another 10 minutes.

Serve with lots of napkins and a hearty red wine like a Cabernet or Pinot Noir.

And remember, Live to Eat!