Monday, September 29, 2014

MEATBALL and/or ROASTED BROCCOLI & CAPONATA SANDWICHES




We all have these days when we’re tired, it’s 5 o’clock and we’re at the store, and we don’t have a clue what we want to make for dinner, but we don’t want to go out, nor get take-out.  Yes, (gasp) this happens even food bloggers!

If I’m tired I don’t want to be doing a whole lot of dishes either, so that’s when I let the grocery store help me out!





In this instance it’s a sammie.  Not just any sammie, but a sammie so satisfying and delicious, that nobody will complain about having sandwiches for dinner.




I use jarred caponata for the base of the sandwich.  Caponata is eggplant in a thick rich tomato sauce with olives and caper.





A good loaf of bread is key!  I like to toast it under the broiler after it’s been doused in extra virgin olive oil. 

Many super markets sell meatballs in their meat case and then I just cook them in a hot oven.  

Now I would have put both meatballs and roasted broccoli on Billy’s sandwich, but I only had a little broccoli left in my refrigerator, so I kept it all for myself!
   


I was just in the mood for lots of melty cheese, so I used fresh mozzarella; if I were trying to better behaved, I might have just topped the sandwiches with some shaved Pecorino Romano, which has a lot of flavor, so a little goes a long way.




I wasn’t in the mood to make a salad either, so I put the salad on the sandwiches…two birds with one stone! 

These Meatball and/or Roasted Broccoli & Caponata Sandwiches are ooey gooey, rich, and oh so comforting!  They feel naughty because of the cheese, but the veggies make them more sensible.  

It took minimal effort to make these sammies, but they were made with lots of love!





MEATBALL and/or ROASTED BROCCOLI & CAPONATA SANDWICHES

Serve 2
 
½            loaf           Fresh Ciabatta bread
1             Tbsp.          Extra virgin olive oil
2/3          cup           Jarred Caponata
12            oz.            Cooked meatballs, cut in half (about 4 slightly bigger than golf ball sized meatballs)
1             recipe         Roasted broccoli florets (recipe follows)
4             thick slices   Fresh mozzarella (regular is also fine, it will just take a bit longer to melt)
2             hands full     Baby kale, spinach or arugula

1.  Pre-heat the broiler.
2.  Slice the Ciabatta bread open, place it on a sheet pan, and drizzle both sides with a good amount of olive oil.  Place under the broiler just until it is golden brown.
3.  Remove the top half of the bread from the pan, put it to the side.  On the bottom half of the bread spread the caponata in an even layer, place the halved meatballs and/or roasted broccoli evenly over the caponata, top with the slices of mozzarella, and place back under the broiler until the cheese is melted and bubbling.
4.  Top the hot bottom half of the sandwich with the greens and the top half of the bread.  Cut into the desired portion size.

FOR THE ROASTED BROCCOLI

2            heaping  cups       Broccoli florets; cut quite small
1            Tbsp.                  Extra virgin olive oil
1/8         tsp.                   Herbs de Provence or Italian seasoning
                                      Salt & pepper to taste

1.  Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.


2.  In a shallow baking dish toss together all of the ingredients.  Roast in the hot oven for 15 to 20 minutes until the broccoli is tender as has a little carmelization.