Greek Meatballs

Meatballs are not very glamorous, that's for sure. You rarely see meatballs on the menu of a nice restaurant because it's pretty hard to class up a meatball. Personally, I love meatballs. They are fun and easy to prepare and they just taste good. Whether they are made from ground beef, chicken or turkey they are always satisfying. The bonus is that my kids will eat ground beef anything so they like meatballs too.
One of my favorite foods is Greek food. I love the flavors from the Mediterranean. The feta cheese, tomatoes, couscous and of course the olives. I love dishes with any and all of these ingredients. So when I was flipping through some old Cuisine at Home magazines, I was excited to have found this Greek Meatball recipe. It was the perfect marriage of food and flavor for me. Not to mention that it was just plain delicious! I made these meatballs with ground chuck but if you're looking for a more traditional Greek ingredient, you could also substitute with ground lamb. Enjoy!

For another meatball recipe, try my Spicy Asian Meatball Soup.

Greek Meatballs  (recipe from Cuisine at Home Magazine, Aug 2005)
Makes 12 Meatballs

1 cup breadcrumbs
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
2 T scallions, minced
1 t. kosher salt
2 t. dried oregano leaves
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 lb. ground chuck
2 T. olive oil
3/4 cup kalamata olives, pitted, halved
1 T. garlic, minced
1 t. red pepper flakes
6 cups tomatoes, quartered or 2 cans whole tomatoes (28oz. each)
Salt and pepper to taste
chopped cucumber
Lemon zest

Combine crumbs, milk, feta, parsley, scallions, salt, oregano and egg in a mixing bowl. Stir in the ground chuck and mix lightly but well. Shape the mixture into balls about 2" in diameter. Heat oil in a large saute pan over medium-high. Add meatballs and brown all sides, about 5 minutes. Remove from pan and keep warm. Add olives, garlic and red pepper flakes to the pan and saute for 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes and cook 10 minutes. (I cooked the tomatoes longer, about 30 minutes to help cut the acidity of the tomatoes) Season with salt and pepper, return meatballs to the pan and simmer 5 minutes, or until cooked through. Serve over couscous, topped with feta dressing, cucumber and lemon zest.

Lemon Couscous
3/4 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 T unsalted butter
1/2 t. kosher salt
3/4 cup dry plain couscous

Bring broth, lemon juice, butter and salt to a boil in a saucepan. Remove from heat, add couscous, stir and cover. Let stand 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork.

Feta Yogurt Dressing
1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup plain yogurt
2 T. fresh lemon juice
1/2 t. kosher salt
1/4 t. black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir well. Cover and chill until ready to use.