Keftedes, or Greek meatballs, are great to make when fresh herbs are readily available.
You may never have thought to add fresh herbs to your meatball mix, but once you try it you will never go back to just the plain old breadcrumb routine.
The herbs add so much flavor without overpowering the meat.
Keftedes Sauce Choices
Sometimes, we serve these meatballs with a sweetly spiced savory tomato sauce, and sometimes with Avgolemono sauce. Either way, this meal is something special.
Lemon juice is used liberally in Greek cooking, and its acidity acts as a tenderizer. It’s loaded with Vitamin C, too.
And the fresh herbs in keftedes just add to the flavor and health profile of this traditional dish.
Keftedes (Greek Meatballs)
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lbs. ground beef
- 1 c. fresh herbs: a mix of parsley oregano, and mint leaves (discard tough stems); this will be about 1/3 c. chopped herbs
- 1 minced yellow onion about 1/2 c.
- 2 garlic cloves crushed and minced
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- ⅓ c. bread crumbs may use gluten-free
- ⅓ c. milk (may use plant-based milk)
- ½ tsp. salt
- ¼ tsp. pepper
Instructions
- If you are grilling, make the sauce ahead of time. If you are baking, you can make the sauce while the meatballs bake.
- Preheat oven to 350°F or heat grill.
- Chop fresh herbs, add to bowl with all other ingredients, in order listed. Mix thoroughly.
- Form small meatballs, about 2 inches in diameter. Keftedes are traditionally shaped in ovals, but I just stick with spheres. They taste the same either way!
- Bake for about 40 minutes, or until cooked through. Grilling is, of course, faster.Serve with sauce.
Avgolemono Sauce
Ingredients
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 2 eggs
- 1 c. chicken stock
- 4 T. butter
- 4 T. flour
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat the chicken stock in a medium saucepan.
- Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small frying pan, and stir in the flour. Whisk over medium heat until the mixture starts to brown. Add a few tablespoons of chicken broth to loosen the mixture, then pour the flour mixture into the pot of chicken broth, stirring. Bring to a boil, then turn off heat.
- In another small bowl, beat the eggs. Put some of the chicken broth mixture into the eggs to temper them, then add the eggs to the broth pot, continuing to stir.
- Now, stir in the lemon juice. Do not boil the mixture once you’ve added the eggs and lemon, but you can reheat it (stirring) before serving. Salt and pepper to taste.
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