Lebanese Meatballs

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I know.  These look really good, don't they?  Little spiced meatballs are one of the things I make over and over again.  But I do try and experiment with something a little different each time.  This time I made them a little spicier and a little greener.  I don't know why, but flavors tend to get sucked up by ground meat dishes like meatballs and meatloaves.  It helps to have a pretty heavy hand with the seasonings if you want the flavors to come through in the end.

We had these meatballs with the Hummus and Laffa Bread the other night.  I like meatballs because you can have just a little meat as part of a mostly vegetarian dinner. 

And once you have the meatball 'formula' down, you can tweak it any way you like.  My formula is an egg and half a cup of some kind of bread crumb for every pound of ground meat. The rest is up for grabs.

For these meatballs I added a little extra in the way of spices---cardamom, cumin, allspice and lots of salt and pepper.  Cinnamon can be substitued for the cardamom if you don't have any.  I love the exotic combinations of spices in Middle Eastern meats.  You can experiment with other spices, too, like paprika, coriander, turmeric, ginger, nutmeg and chilies. 

I also used a heavy hand with the greens...scallion, parsley and mint.

Just for a little more flavor and texture I added some crumbled goat cheese.  You could also use feta.

Lebanese Meatballs
serves 4
oven to 350
1/2 lb ground beef
1/2 lb ground lamb
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs (grind some fresh in your mini processor if you have any bread lying around, or use prepared crumbs)
1/2 cup finely crumbled goat cheese (you can use feta)
1/2 cup finely chopped scallions
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/4 cup chopped mint
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground cardamom (or cinnamon)
1 tsp ground allspice
salt and freshly ground pepper 
2 Tbsp olive oil for browning
pine nuts for garnish
Yogurt Sauce
2 cups yogurt
1/4 cup tahini (optional)
1/2 cup cilantro, parsley, mint, or a combination, finely minced
juice of 1 lemon
1 clove garlic, minced
salt to taste

• For the meatballs: Put everything except the olive oil into a large bowl.  Make sure you egg is pre-beaten.  With as little manipulation as possible, combine all the ingredients thoroughly together. The less you work the mixture the more tender your meatballs will be.    
• Form into small balls and set on a plate.  Using a scooper makes the process clean and easy.  Mine was 1 3/4 inch.  
• If you want to do this part ahead, you can, just cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate till you're ready to cook.
• Heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet and brown the meatballs, in batches, for several minutes, turning them once or twice in the pan.
• Transfer the meatballs to a baking sheet and bake for about 10 to 15 minutes, until done.  The time will depend on the size of your meatballs, I like to use my cooking thermometer to check one; it should read about 160 degrees.  They will continue to cook a bit after they're out.
• For the sauce mix up all the ingredients and thin with a little milk if it seems too thick.  This can be made ahead.
• Serve the meatballs with the sauce and a few pine nuts for garnish.