Cooking the Chronicle – Feb 2

I’ll start by saying this. Vegan cheese scares me. It gets so close to replicating the original, but there is always something slightly off—the taste and the texture. So when Jessica Grann challenged us to be daring and try vegan provolone on these sandwiches, (“Italian meatballs subs,” Feb 2), I was not brave enough to take up the challenge.

In fact, I love real cheese so much that through the whole process of making this, I had to remind myself to stay true to the original recipe the way Grann imagined it. If I had my druthers, I would make this with Impossible ground beef and liberally cover the sub with provolone.

Ultimately, I think that would be the direction to go. This was a really solid meatball recipe (they were soft and flavorful), but with the store-bought marinara and a basic parve roll, the end result felt like it was missing something. It was slightly too basic, and despite toasting the rolls, the sauce made the bread quite soggy. I am not a meatball sub aficionado here, but if I was supposed to do something to prevent this from happening, please do share.

Our toddler really likes meatballs, so this was a hit, despite her requiring us to serve everything deconstructed. Yes, she ate the meatballs and the roll separately. The recipe was easy to get her involved in—she helped make the balls and assemble the sandwiches, a messy delight for the little chef.

When the mood strikes again for meatballs, I would try a few different directions. First, vegan meat and load the sandwiches up with real provolone. Second, perhaps upgrading to much nicer marinara (or even homemade) would bring the punch that was missing for me. Third, toss the idea of a sandwich and serve these delicious meatballs with pasta.

Next time!