Keftedes

It is a rock and roll week, a quick run into the city to sort out a network issue, a certification exam twelve hours later, and back to the city for two days early the next week. Thence, Madam Badwolf must depart to play GrandMa bear.

I want some quick energy protein, and I want taste, and I want it quickly. I think Greek meatballs, with tzatziki, served with pita bread and a salad. A quick check reveals that my local Greek restaurant is not open today. I suppose I’ll deal with this myself.

I have ground beef from a local farm, mint in the herb garden, lemon in the fruit basket, salt, pepper, garlic, and bread crumbs, so I am good to cook. The process is NOT complex but requires a bit of attention.

I’ll mix these up using a gentle touch so they stay tender, then fry them in my cast iron skillet.

Wikipedia links these to Kofta:

Kofta is a family of meatball or meatloaf dishes found in South Asian, Central Asian, Balkan, Middle Eastern, North African, and South Caucasian cuisines. In the simplest form, koftas consist of balls of minced meat—usually beef, chicken, pork, lamb or mutton, or a mixture—mixed with spices and sometimes other ingredients. The earliest known recipes are found in early Arab cookbooks and call for ground lamb.

There are many national and regional variations. There are also vegetable and uncooked versions. Shapes vary and include balls, patties, and cylinders. Sizes typically vary from that of a golf ball to that of an orange.

Keftedes

Greek Meatballs, Serve with tzatziki and pita.. So versatile.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 35 minutes mins

Course Appetizer, Dinner, Lunch, Main Course, Side Dish, Snack

Cuisine American, Greek

Servings 4 People

Calories 351 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 lb Ground Beef Lean.
• 1 ea Yellow Onion peeled, grated
• 2 tsp Salt
• 1/4 tsp Pepper Black, Fresh Grind
• 3 cloves Garlic minced fine
• 1 ea Egg Large
• 6 tbsp Mint Washed, Chopped, 1 Bunch
• 1 ea Lemon Wedged
• 1/2 cup Bread Crumbs Plain

Instructions

 

• Mix ground beef, grated onion, minced garlic, salt, pepper, egg, chopped mint and breadcrumbs
• Once combined, form into meatballs using about one heaping tablespoon per meatball.
• Coat the bottom of a frying pan with olive oil and turn to medium heat.
• Fry the meatballs in batches, stirring every few minutes until meatballs are cooked through, about 10-12 minutes.
• Serve on a piece of pita with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and tzatziki.

Notes

See my post on Basic Meat Loaf https://www.roguechef.com/?p=3926  for my rant about ground beef.

 

 

Nutrition

Calories: 351kcalCarbohydrates: 12gProtein: 22gFat: 24gSaturated Fat: 9gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 81mgSodium: 1341mgPotassium: 387mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 321IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 69mgIron: 3mg

Keyword Greek, MeatBall

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