Italian Meatball Sliders

So D made these. Typically we don't like sliders but we had ricotta from a week or so ago, and this sounded good. At the grocery we decided we were going to make bigger burgers, but the Kroger dude made the price of slider burgers $0.49 for us, so again, sliders.

D said they were very easy to make.

They were sooooooo good. It really took a lot not to have an extra half serving. We will definitely have again.

We had with spinach, egg, and mozzarella salad.

Italian Meatball Sliders

Photo by ALB

YIELD: Serves 6 (serving size: 2 sliders)
COURSE: Sandwiches

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 shallots, finely diced
1/3 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs), toasted
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
8 ounces lean ground pork
2 (4-ounce) links turkey Italian sausage, casings removed (used pork hot Italian)
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups lower-sodium marinara sauce
12 slider buns, toasted
12 basil leaves

Preparation
1. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large skillet over medium heat; swirl to coat. Add garlic and shallots to pan; sauté 3 minutes or until shallots are softened, stirring frequently. Combine shallot mixture, ricotta, and next 8 ingredients (through egg) in a medium bowl. (Chopped and added the basil to everything). Shape mixture into 12 (1-inch) meatballs; flatten each meatball slightly.

2. Return pan to medium-high heat. Add remaining 2 teaspoons oil to pan. Add meatballs to pan; cook 6 minutes, turning once. Add marinara sauce; bring to a boil, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 8 minutes or until meatballs are done. Top bottom half of each bun with 1 1/2 tablespoons sauce, 1 meatball, 1 basil leaf, and top half of bun.

Nutritional Information
Calories: 429; Fat: 16.3g; Saturated fat: 4g; Monounsaturated fat: 5.1g; Polyunsaturated fat: 4.2g; Protein: 25.4g; Carbohydrate: 60.5g; Fiber: 2.3g; Cholesterol: 85mg; Iron: 2.7mg; Sodium: 764mg; Calcium: 131mg

Cooking Light MARCH 2012