Meat Ball Mezza

I know spaghetti is what most people think of when someone says meat balls, but not me.

Me, I think mezze. (what did you think I was going to say??) It's basically just a bunch of finger foods eaten as a meal. I love finger foods and small plates. Mezze is along the lines of tapas, which seems to be the trendy Spanish version. This is a more Mediterranean thing, like with hummus and pita... and hey! We already know how to make those!

Mediterranean Meaty Balls in Tomato Sauce

What you need:

• ½ lb lean ground beef
• 1 c rice
• 1 egg
• ¼ c parsley
• 1 tbsp mint
• 2 tbsp dill
• ½ onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• ½ tsp cumin
• ½ tsp coriander
• ¼ tsp cayenne
• ½ c grated parmesan or romano cheese
• 1 tin of diced tomatoes
• ¼ c flour
• 1 tbsp butter

Yeah, yeah, I know, I missed a few things in the pic. I hope you know what butter looks like.

What you gotta do:

Chop the mint, onion, garlic, and dill.

Put half of the mint, onion, garlic, and dill, along with half of the cayenne, cumin and coriander in a bowl with the meat, egg and rice.

Grate the cheese and add it to the meaty bowl too. Okay, that's a pretty picture but a much too small bowl. Make sure your bowl is big enough or you're going to have to wash two.

Mix and mash this all together by hand.

In a shallow pan, heat a bit of olive oil.

Add the other half of the mint, onion, garlic, and dill, along with half of the cayenne, cumin and coriander to the pan and sautee for a minute.

Um, okay, yes, those ingredients are already in meaty balls. The space time continuum does not apply to this blog.

Add the tomatoes. I really recommend using the diced, rather than crushed. You get a bit of texture in the chunks, and a thinner, lighter “sauce” in which to poach the meaty balls. I imagine you’re looking at the volume and thinking there’s no way that’s enough sauce for your spaghetti. It’s not. This isn’t sauce for spaghetti. It’s sauce for meaty balls.

Put the flour into a shallow bowl or plate. Roll the meat/rice mixture into balls about 1 inch in diameter. You should get between 20 and 24 of them. Not bad for only half a pound of meat. This is a very budget friendly dish.

Drop them into the flour

and roll them around to coat them with the flour. You’re going to get sticky and messy here. I recommend having one hand as your flour hand, and one as your meaty ball hand.

Once they’re fully coated, gently shake off any excess, then drop them into the simmering tomatoes. Don’t worry if a bit of flour gets into the sauce, it’s supposed to. It’s there to thicken things up.

Add a tbsp or two of butter to the sauce around the same time as you're adding the meaty balls.

Once they’re all in and cozy, cover them and let them cook for about 10 minutes.

Gently roll them over and then cover and cook for another 10-15 minutes. Shaking the pan back and forth a bit may be enough to roll them over, but if it's not, be careful. These are tender meaty balls. Ticklish even.

If you don't feel up to doing a mezze meal, these are great with a side of rice (season it Greek style with olive oil, lemon juice, and mint in the water!) or roasted potatoes, and a salad.

If you do feel like mezza, serve them on a shallow plate nestled in their sauce.

Besides the hummus and pita, I think pickled things are an absolute requirement. And not just olives! Go for the pickled beans, aparagus, carrots, onions, cucumbers even! A bit of tiropita (like spanikopita but without the spinach, cheese only!) is handy. But don't forget the tzaziki to dip!

What's your favourite pickled vegetable??