Greek Meatballs. This recipe can serve a crowd as an appetizer, but see our serving. They're made with lamb and a handful of seasonings (orange zest, mint, garlic), and rolled into perfect little bites. Served alongside fresh tomato and cucumber salad.
Paired with store bought or homemade tzatziki.
The raw meatball mixture is quite 'loose' and needs a gentle touch, but it will hold together (trust me).
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You can cook Greek Meatballs using 34 ingredients and 6 steps. Here is how you achieve it.
Ingredients of Greek Meatballs
- Prepare of For the meatballs.
- You need 1 pound of ground beef or pork, lamb, chicken, turkey (or combination of beef and pork).
- You need 1/4 cup of plain breadcrumbs (paleo - omit, gluten free - use GF breadcrumbs).
- Prepare 1/4 cup of finely chopped red onion.
- Prepare 2 cloves of garlic, minced.
- It's 1/4 cup of finely chopped Kalamata olives (I use and recommend Lindsay Naturals Kalamata Olives).
- It's 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh parsley.
- Prepare 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh mint.
- It's 1 of large egg.
- It's 1 teaspoon of salt.
- You need 1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper.
- You need 1 teaspoon of paprika.
- You need 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon.
- It's 1/4 teaspoon of freshly ground nutmeg.
- You need 3/4 teaspoon of oregano.
- It's 3/4 teaspoon of thyme.
- It's of For the Roasted Vegetables:.
- You need 1 of medium eggplant (choose one that isn't too fat but more slender to avoid too many bitter seeds), peeled and diced into ¼ inch pieces.
- You need 5 cloves of garlic, peels left intact.
- You need 2-3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil.
- Prepare of SAUCE.
- It's 1 of medium red onion, chopped.
- Prepare 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil.
- It's 1 of small red bell pepper, seeded and diced.
- You need 1/2 cup of dry red wine (or use white if using chicken or turkey).
- Prepare 1 (28 ounce) of can crushed tomatoes (I recommend certified San Marzano's from Italy).
- Prepare 1/3 cup of chopped sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained.
- Prepare 1 teaspoon of salt.
- It's 1/4 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper.
- You need 1/2 teaspoon of thyme.
- It's 1/2 teaspoon of oregano.
- Prepare 1 cup of whole Kalamata olives, drained (I use and recommend Lindsay Naturals Kalamata Olives).
- Prepare 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh parsley.
- Prepare 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh mint.
Some prefer to soak the bread in water and others in milk. Usually ground veal is added and oregano, parsley and mint are added for flavour. And they go perfectly with Greek Tzatziki. This super easy Greek keftedakia recipe uses ground beef as the base but.
Greek Meatballs instructions
- First we’re going to get the eggplant going so that can roast while we’re working on the other stuff. Select an eggplant that is on the narrow side. Fat ones tend to have more seeds which results in a bitter flavor. The peel also tends to be bitter in flavor and tough in texture, so peel the eggplant completely. Dice it into chunks about 1/4 inch in size. You can make them larger if you prefer. Don’t worry about tossing them with lemon juice to prevent them from getting brown. They’re going to get very brown while roasting them anyway. First get the roasted eggplant and garlic going. Toss them with a little salt and the olive oil and spread them out single-layer on a lined cookie sheet. Roast for about 20 minutes or until nicely browned, turning once with a spatula after about 10 minutes. Remove Set aside. Once cool, peel and mince the roasted garlic..
- Combine all of the meatball ingredients in a large bowl. Use your hands or a food processor to incorporate the ingredients. Form the mixture into 1-inch balls (you can make them larger if you prefer)..
- Heat about 2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and brown the meatballs on all sides (See NOTE for oven baking method). Transfer the meatballs to a plate and set aside..
- Add the red onions and the oil if more is needed and cook them until soft and caramelized, about 6-8 minutes. Add the red bell pepper and cook for another couple of minutes until softened. Add the wine and bring it to a rapid boil. Boil for 2 minutes..
- Add the roasted eggplant, roasted garlic and all of the sauce ingredients, except for the olives, parsley and mint, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes. Return the meatballs to the sauce, cover and simmer for another 15 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add the whole Kalamata olives, cover and simmer for another 5 minutes then stir in the chopped parsley and mint..
- Garnish with some extra parsley and mint and serve with crusty bread, rice or orzo and a Greek or leafy green salad.