Here are some of the little guys before I finished them in the oven.
Well hi there, friends! I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, or at least a wonderful Thursday and a great weekend. What? Oh, the title of the post? Yeah, no leftovers. I’ll not be writing up any recipes for turkey chili or big fat sammiches or cream of sweet potato soup or fried potatoes. We ate our Thanksgiving meal at the nursing home where Uncle Ray lives.
The Beloved and I drove down and picked up Auntie ‘Leenie at her assisted living center and then met Mom and Dad at Uncle Ray’s. We all Proceeded to the dining room, feeling more than a bit Trepidacious. You see, we ate there two years ago when Auntie Ev lived there, and the meal was Horrid. But, never underestimate the power of a new chef, and they have One there at the home.
He and his staff really outdid themselves, instant mashed potatoes (thank you Sysco) notwithstanding. There were many Items that I would have happily gone back for seconds, but The Beloved had brought his Famous Fruit Cake for dessert, and I didn’t want to be too full to enjoy it.
And that is why I am writing about lamb meatballs today. But, I bet there are plenty of people in the same boat as us–folks who either aren’t from the US and don’t celebrate Thanksgiving (or celebrated in October–hello, Canadian friends), or folks who ate at Aunt Jean’s or Grandma’s or the Officer’s Club or at a restaurant–who don’t have any leftovers. Or maybe you do have some leftovers and are just sick of them and have frozen them for the Time Being until you can bring yourself to eat some more turkey in January.
So, these meatballs are for those of you who don’t have leftovers or are just sick of looking at them. They are very, very tasty. I made them for a drop in a few weeks ago and served them with tzatziki sauce as a Dipping Appetizer, but you could just as easily make a yummy cinnamon or mint-scented tomato sauce and simmer them up in that. In that case, serve them over noodles or roasted vegetables. Either way, do try them. I think you’ll enjoy them.
| Lamb Meatballs |
- For the Meatballs
- 1 pound ground lamb
- 1/2 pound ground beef
- 1/4-1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs, depending on how bready you like things. I used about 1/4 cup (use what you have–I had some multigrain that I whirred up in the blender)
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano (or 1 tablespoon fresh)
- zest of 1 lemon
- 1 egg
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- For the Tzatziki Sauce
- 1 cup Greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1/2 cucumber, peeled, seeded and grated (or chopped)
- 1 shallot, minced
- 2 tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Gently but thoroughly mix all the ingredients together.
- Take about 1 tablespoon of meat mixture and form it into a wee hamburger. Fry it in olive oil until done.
- Taste. If you like it, proceed. If it needs more seasoning, add it.
- Form the meat into balls by the tablespoon. You should have roughly 50, give or take.
- Saute meatballs in batches in olive oil until browned on all sides. Place on parchment lined baking sheets–they can be close together but not touching.
- Finish them in the oven for about 10 minutes. Serve hot or at room temperature.
- Scoop the yogurt into a fine mesh strainer and let drain in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
- Once the yogurt is nice and thick, mix it together with the rest of the ingredients.
- Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary.
- If you have time, cover and let chill for an hour or two before serving to allow the flavors to marry and develop.
You can absolutely make this as a meatloaf, if you’d like. Just form it into a loaf and pour some nice lemony tomato sauce over it before baking.
And there you have it. Lamb meatballs with tzatziki–about as far from turkey and stuffing as you can get! Eat them at home or serve them at a Holiday Gathering–your friends will be Very Impressed.
Have a lovely day.
