Last year my vegetarian roommate AG got me to try a veggie burger. All my life I had scoffed at the 'fake' meat I had seen in grocery stores and on restaurant menus, thinking that it was gross. But I like to think of myself as someone who's pretty adventurous with food, so I gave it a try. It. . .was. . . freaking delicious! I now eat veggie burgers even when given the choice of a meat patty, much to the confusion of a waitress recently who had to clarify, that yes, I did indeed want a veggie burger with bacon.
This had me realise that meals didn't have to centre around a meat dish, that meat needn't be the centrepiece of an entree, or even necessary. Now I eat a mostly vegetarian diet to the dismay of my mother who still carries the aforementioned paradigm. She tells me all the time that I'm going to be anaemic if I don't eat more meat. Guess what? My hemoglobin levels were at the very adequate level of 133g/L last time I donated blood, so there.
Unfortunately this also means that I'm slightly at a loss on what to do with meat. Nonna hooked me up with some delicious homemade meatballs and the only thing that came to mind was your standard spaghetti and meatballs. I needed some inspiration.
Allrecipes gave me 1000's of recipes for meatballs, but not really any with meatballs, so I kept looking. Luckily I haphazardly came across a recipe on the Trader Joe's site and put my own spin on them to create: The Calzadilla.
What is a Calzadilla you ask? Sort of like a calzone, quesadilla, pita sandwich sort of thing. Duh.
Inspired by Classic Meatball Subs
Meatball Calzadilla
Yield: 1 serving
- 1 pita bread (pocket-style)
- 2-3 meatballs, cooked and heated
- Marinara sauce
- 1/5 green pepper, julienned
- 1/4 red onion, sliced thinly
- 2 tablespoons shredded mozzarella
- Saute green pepper and onion in a bit of oil until fragrant and add marinara
- Push to one side and place pita on pan, cover half of it with the vegetables
- Add meatballs and squish them slightly
- Sprinkle with cheese and fold over the other half of the pita
- Allow both sides to brown
1 comment:
This sounds delicious! I love all of the veggies you put in it! Thanks for linking up on Recipes I Can't Wait to Try!
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