Recipe: Make 'out-of-this-world' meatballs from Amici

Q: My granddaughter was a student at Oxford College in Conyers/Covington. We stumbled onto Amici's by accident the first time we visited her but after that we always stopped there for their out-of-this-world meatball sub. We live in Lawrenceville so it's quite a trip to Covington but we have done it once or twice. I would love to have their recipe for meatballs. Thank you. — Celia Forgie, Lawrenceville

A: Chris Torino was glad to share the recipe for the meatballs served at all seven Amici locations. The recipe makes 40 large meatballs, but if that seems like too much, Torino suggests you make the entire batch because it freezes so well. "These meatballs can be frozen before or after cooking. You can also cook them right in a simmering tomato sauce for a couple of hours which will add great flavor to your sauce. And don't feel restricted to the exact recipe. Meatballs are a great and easy dish that is very hard to screw up but very rewarding to eat."

Turn the meatballs into a sub by buttering and grilling your favorite rolls, then arranging meatballs in the roll and topping with tomato sauce and mozzarella. Run them into the oven to melt the cheese and dinner is served.

A note about the cheese quantities called for here: We’ve listed both weight and volume. If you’re using very finely grated Romano or Parmesan, you’ll have less cheese by volume. Feel free to adjust the quantity of cheese to your taste.

Amici’s Italian Meatballs

3/4 pound loose Italian sausage, your choice of hot or sweet

2 cups chopped fresh basil

1 cup grated Parmesan (2 ounces)

2/3 cup grated Romano (3 ounces)

1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs

3 tablespoons chopped garlic

1/4 cup finely chopped red onion

4 teaspoons black pepper

2 1/2 pounds ground chuck

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine sausage, basil, Parmesan, Romano, bread crumbs, garlic, onion and pepper. Mix together to thoroughly incorporate the seasonings. Then add the ground chuck and mix together to evenly distribute the seasonings throughout the beef. Use a 1/4-cup or 2-ounce measure to form meatballs. Arrange meatballs on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake 30 minutes or until cooked through. Makes: 40

Per meatball: 130 calories (percent of calories from fat, 69), 8 grams protein, 2 grams carbohydrates, trace fiber, 10 grams fat (4 grams saturated), 31 milligrams cholesterol, 181 milligrams sodium.