Recipe by Corline Carstens, as reported by Helen Dollaghan in the March 28, 1976, edition of The Denver Post. Makes 8 sandwiches.
Ingredients
1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup dry Italian-style bread crumbs
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 medium clove garlic, minced
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon dry parsley flakes
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
Cooking oil
Tomato-mushroom sauce (recipe follows)
Individual French bread rolls, each about 4 or 5 inches long
Mozzarella cheese slices (optional)
Directions
Combine beef, crumbs, egg, garlic, cheese, parsley, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning. Mix well. Shape mixture into 8 or 9 balls. Thoroughly brown meatballs on all sides in a small amount of heated cooking oil. Drain meatballs on paper towels. Place meatballs in tomato-mushroom sauce. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered, until meatballs are done. Split French rolls lengthwise. Cut meatballs into halves or thick slices, and arrange them on bottom halves of rolls. Spoon desired amount of tomato sauce on top. Place slices of cheese on meatballs, and close sandwiches.
Tomato Mushroom Sauce
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 medium stalk celery and leaves, chopped
2 medium cloves garlic, minced
1 can (28 ounces) tomatoes
1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
1 can (6 ounces) sliced mushrooms
1 heaping tablespoon dry parsley flakes
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon sugar
1 large bay leaf
Directions
Heat oil. Add onion, green pepper, celery and garlic. Saute mixture, stirring frequently, until onion is transparent. Crush tomatoes with potato masher. Add tomatoes and their liquid, tomato paste and tomato sauce to onion mixture. Add four tomato sauce cans of water. Drain mushrooms and use the mushroom liquid as part of the water. Add mushrooms, parsley, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, sugar and bay leaf. Mix well. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered, three hours. Makes about 2 quarts of sauce. Sauce freezes nicely and can be used for a number of other things, including pizza and spaghetti.
