Lentilball marinara subs

 

One of my charges is vegetarian. She is young, but it is a strong decision, and we have been trying to encourage her to succeed in maintaining her chosen path. These subs were an amazing substitution for the classic meaty version. Lentils are such a great option to replace ground meat in vegetarian meals.

Ingredients

6 sub rolls

12 slices of provolone

1 jar of good marinara

1-2 cups of shredded mozzarella

2 cups of dry brown lentils

4 cloves garlic

1 yellow onion

2 tsp Hungarian Paprika

salt

black pepper

2 eggs

1 cup breadcrumbs

milk if necessary

Preparation

Cook the lentils. Drain the liquid and squeeze out the lentils.

Mix with the shredded onion and crushed garlic, the paprika, salt, black pepper, the eggs, and the breadcrumbs. Allow to sit for about 5 minutes, to let the breadcrumbs absorb the liquid. The resulting mixture should be easy to shape, and the consistency of a good meatball mixture. Adjust with milk if necessary (or more breadcrumbs, if your lentils remained very wet).

Shape 1.5-2 inch balls from the mix and place onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Use wet hands for ease, if needed. Bake in a preheated 400F oven until lightly browned. Remove and allow to cool a bit.

Cover the open rolls with provolone cheese and broil to melt the cheese on. Heat the marinara. Dunk the balls into the marinara and distribute onto the rolls. Drizzle on more marinara if desired. Sprinkle on mozzarella and parmesan to taste. Serve!