Lousy picture, I know. But I was so keen to devour this thing I failed to get a good shot.
Gorgonzola. It’s one of my favourite cheeses and when the mood strikes nothing else will so, not even other types of blue cheese. So when an invitation landed in my inbox for a Gorgonzola cookery event at L’Atelier des Chefs last week that was officially hosted by the Consorzio per la Tutela del Formaggio Gorgonzola, I RSVPed with an immediate yes and please!
The event was a lot of fun. I’ve attended to L’Atelier classes before and this one was to the same high calibre I’ve come to expect. We made a variety of recipes (each incorporating Gorgonzola). I liked them all, but especially loved one for pork and Gorgonzola burger with caramelised pears. That recipe and residual inspiration from my recent visit to Bologna (where I had a fantastic serving of polpette con piselli for lunch) had me concocting my own Gorgonzolicious recipe soon afterwards.
Here’s the result, a Gorgonzola meatball sub guaranteed to leave a mess and satisfy appetites of any proportion. Enjoy.
GORGONZOLA MEATBALL SUB WITH CREAMY DILL SAUCE AND BALSAMIC HONEY VINAIGRETTE Yum
Gorgonzola Meatball Ingredients (makes four substantial sandwiches)
- 1 large baguette;
- 500g minced pork;
- 2 cloves of garlic, crushed;
- 1 shallot, finely chopped;
- 4 tablespoons of fresh sage, finely chopped;
- 4 tablespoons of sea salt;
- 2 tablespoons of black pepper;
- 5 tablespoons of olive oil;
- 2 eggs;
- 50g of Gorgonzola cremoso;
- 100g of radicchio (if you can’t find radicchio, something like a bag of crispy salad will do. I like Waitrose’s Essential Crispy Salad which contains radicchio).
Creamy Dill Sauce Ingredients
- 150 sour cream;
- Juice from one small lemon;
- 4 tablespoons of dill;
- 1 heaping tablespoon of Dijon;
- 1 dash of salt.
Balsamic Honey Vinaigrette Ingredients
- ½ cup of olive oil;
- 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar;
- 1 heaping tablespoon of honey;
- 1 dash of sea salt.
Method for the Meatballs
- Preheat oven to 220º C (425º F);
- Cut your baguette into four equal sized pieces;
- Slice each piece in half as you would to make a sandwich;
- Scoop out about half of the soft interior of each baguette piece;
- Place the scooped out bread in a large bowl with the pork and 2 tablespoons of olive oil;
- Thoroughly mix in the garlic, shallot, sage, salt, and black pepper;
- Add one egg and mix thoroughly and then another egg and mix again;
- Add 2 more tablespoons of olive oil and mix again;
- Apply a light coat of of olive oil to a cookie sheet;
- Pat out 8 compact meatballs and place on the sheet, keeping about a tablespoon’s worth of meat to the side;
- With your finger or the handle end of a small utensil poke a hole about ½ way through each meatball;
- Fill each hole with Gorgonzola, leaving enough room to close the ball back up (use the leftover tablespoon’s worth to help secure the holes;
- Place in the oven and cook for 30 minutes or until brown;
- In the last five minutes of baking add the baguette pieces to the oven so they are toasty and warm for serving;
- Take the meatballs and bread out of the oven;
- Line the bottom piece of sandwich with a layer of radicchio, add 2 meatballs each, cover with the sauce and the vinaigrette and cover with the top piece of baguette.
Method for the Sauce
- While the meatballs are baking, mix together the sour cream, lemon juice, dill, Dijon and salt in a small bowl.
Method for the Vinaigrette
- Whisk together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, honey and salt in a small bowl.
Serve
These instructions assume you’re going to eat your meatballs with your hands as a sandwich (make you’ve got plenty of napkins). But you could also serve them open faced and smothered in the cream sauce or as bite-sized canapés or tapas with the sauce as a dip. However you plan to have ’em, just don’t get too worked up about it. This recipe is all about the comfort. They’re just meatballs. Enjoy them next time you want something yummy for a laid back and fun meal.
Read more tikichris recipes.
