Greek Meatballs

I am such a sucker for Greek flavors. I've been thinking about Greek meatballs forever and finally decided to make them when my friend, Patty, brought me some amazing feta from New York City. She has family up there and whenever she visits she brings home all sorts of Greek delicacies. This feta has spoiled me for all supermarket feta. It's tangy and salty and just plain perfect.

After I posted these to my personal Facebook page, my friend Jaida mentioned that she makes her Greek turkey meatballs with spinach. I wish I'd thought of that because you may notice that we didn't have a veggie side dish. We all thought the texture of the meatballs was perfect so I don't want to add spinach to them directly, but next time I make these I'll definitely wilt some spinach with sliced garlic to serve alongside.

There are a lot of recipes for Greek meatballs out there so I looked at a few and pulled ingredients that sounded good to me. This is my take. Adjust as you like. 

UPDATE: December 2020

I turned leftover meatballs into Greek meatballs sandwiches. Homemade naan, meatballs broken into pieces, lettuce, tomato and tzatziki. Utterly and completely delicious (and very messy). I highly recommend doing this with leftover meatballs.

Greek Meatballs

 

2 lbs. ground beef
1/4 cup finely minced red onion
1/2 to 1 cup feta, crumbled
1 tablespoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon cumin
2 teaspoons dried dill
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2/3 cup panko
1/3 cup milk
2 large eggs, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Preheat the oven to 415 degrees. Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Line a baking sheet with foil and top with a sheet of parchment paper. Spray the parchment with cooking spray. Form the meat mixture into meatballs. I used an ice cream scoop for larger meatballs.  Place the meatballs on the baking sheet. 

Bake for 30 minutes if you made larger meatballs. Bake for 15 minutes if you used a 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoon scoop. Meatballs are done when the internal temp is at least 165 degrees. 

Serve with rice, garlicky sauteed spinach and tzatziki. 

Tzatziki

1 medium cucumber, peeled and seeded
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 small garlic clove, minced
Dried dill, to taste
2 cups plain Greek nonfat yogurt
Squeeze of fresh lemon juice

Grate the cucumber over the large holes of a box grater. Place the cucumber in a bowl and add the salt, pepper, garlic, and dried dill. Stir to combine. Add the yogurt and some lemon juice and mix well. Taste and adjust the seasonings, as needed. Chill before serving.