Walnut Pesto Meatball Sandwich

Walnut Pesto Meatball Sandwich

I am not a big t.v. watcher. If I am watching t.v., you can probably bet it is a cooking show. One day while watching the food network's diners, drive-ins and dives Guy ferettie was in Canada at Hey Meatball. They were making sandwiches called the the godfather. So I start thinking to myself this looks really good but Canada is really far away.

So, instead of grabbing my passport, I headed to the freezer for some homemade meatballs.  For the tutorial on making the meatballs {here} 

I never make pesto. Cost is a big driving factor for me, and pine nuts are expensive. When Hey Meatball used walnuts, I thought they really had something there. Why I wanted to make this sandwich in the first place is beyond me, why my sister went along with it is also confusing. No one in either family loves pesto, we were singing a new tune after this recipe! 

This recipe is based off the recipe you can find in the Joy of Cooking cookbook.

Walnut Pesto

2 cups loosely packed basil leaves
- we raided Andi's garden for this
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

2 garlic cloves 

1/3 cup walnuts 

1/2 cup vegetable oil 

Put all the ingredients in the blender. Blend till there are no big chunks of walnuts.

For the Sandwich. Meatballs, a jar pasta sauce, (Prego Mushroom is our preferred jarred sauce) provolone cheese, and ciabatta rolls. 

Take your cooked meatballs and pasta sauce and heat that through in a pan on the stove. Easy right!

Brush olive oil on the ciabatta rolls (Spring for the ciabatta rolls, the holes in the bread hold the sauce perfectly with out getting soggy. of course this meant we had to go to two different grocery stores but it is worth it). Place the rolls under the broiler until they are golden brown. By know I am sure you are aware of how I feel about the broiler. It is a love hate thing. So stand there and watch it. This is not the microwave beep, you do not want to try and get something else done while the bread cooks. When I walk away from the broiler my house starts to smell like burning!

Once it is done, take the toasted bread and put on a layer of pesto:

Next, put on your meatballs and sauce. 

The original sandwich does not call for cheese, but what is a sandwich without cheese? Top with a slice of provolone cheese. 

Serve, maybe with Sweet Potato Fries

Enjoy this one we all did! 

 Xoxo
Jes