Hey everyone, I hope you are having an incredible day today. Today, we’re going to prepare a distinctive dish, greek meatballs. It is one of my favorites food recipes. For mine, I will make it a little bit unique. This will be really delicious.
Greek Meatballs is one of the most popular of recent trending meals in the world. It’s appreciated by millions daily. It’s easy, it’s quick, it tastes delicious. They are nice and they look fantastic. Greek Meatballs is something that I have loved my whole life.
To get started with this particular recipe, we must prepare a few components. You can have greek meatballs using 34 ingredients and 6 steps. Here is how you cook it.
The ingredients needed to make Greek Meatballs:
- Take For the meatballs
- Prepare 1 pound ground beef or pork, lamb, chicken, turkey (or combination of beef and pork)
- Take 1/4 cup plain breadcrumbs (paleo - omit, gluten free - use GF breadcrumbs)
- Get 1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
- Get 2 cloves garlic, minced
- Prepare 1/4 cup finely chopped Kalamata olives (I use and recommend Lindsay Naturals Kalamata Olives)
- Prepare 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- Prepare 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
- Take 1 large egg
- Make ready 1 teaspoon salt
- Prepare 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Prepare 1 teaspoon paprika
- Take 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Take 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
- Prepare 3/4 teaspoon oregano
- Make ready 3/4 teaspoon thyme
- Take For the Roasted Vegetables:
- Take 1 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
- Prepare 5 cloves garlic, peels left intact
- Get 2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- Make ready SAUCE
- Make ready 1 medium red onion, chopped
- Get 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- Get 1 small red bell pepper, seeded and diced
- Make ready 1/2 cup dry red wine (or use white if using chicken or turkey)
- Take 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes (I recommend certified San Marzano's from Italy)
- Make ready 1/3 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained
- Prepare 1 teaspoon salt
- Get 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Take 1/2 teaspoon thyme
- Make ready 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- Get 1 cup whole Kalamata olives, drained (I use and recommend Lindsay Naturals Kalamata Olives)
- Take 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- Get 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
Instructions to make Greek Meatballs:
- 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
So that is going to wrap this up for this special food greek meatballs recipe. Thanks so much for reading. I’m confident you will make this at home. There is gonna be more interesting food in home recipes coming up. Don’t forget to save this page in your browser, and share it to your loved ones, friends and colleague. Thanks again for reading. Go on get cooking!
