Greek Inspired Lamb Meat Balls with Lemon & Garlic Roasted Potatoes

Servings

Four

Ready In:

About an hour

Good For:

Dinner

Greek Inspired Lamb Meat Balls with
Lemon & Garlic Roasted Potatoes

Ingredients

Meatballs

1 ¼ lb ground lamb (use pork if you are not fussy about lamb)
1 egg
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice of ½ lemon
½ tsp salt
10 cracks fresh black pepper
1 tsp garlic granules
½ tsp basil
¼ tsp oregano
¼ tsp marjoram
¼ tsp thyme
¼ tsp cinnamon
¼ c fresh grated parmesan cheese
½ c green onions, chopped

Lemon Roasted Potatoes

4 large potatoes, cut into wedges
Drizzle of olive oil
½ tsp salt
10 cracks fresh black pepper
½ tsp basil
½ tsp oregano
½ tsp thyme
½ tsp garlic granules
1 chicken bouillon cube
1 c hot water
Juice of ½ lemon

Salad

½ cucumber, thinly sliced into rounds
½ c cherry tomatoes, halved
Loose ½ c cilantro, roughly chopped

Tzatziki

1 c plain yogurt
½ English cucumber, grated
Juice of ½ lemon
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 heaping tsp dill
Pinch of salt & pepper to taste

Step by Step Instructions

Step 1

Set oven to 395°and use a pastry brush to grease a large baking dish with a drizzle of olive oil.

Place potato wedges into a large bowl, drizzle with olive oil, salt, pepper, ½ tsp each of: garlic, basil, oregano, thyme, and toss until potatoes are evenly coated. Dissolve the bouillon cube in 1 cup of hot water, add the juice of half lemon, mix and pour the broth into the baking dish. Add the potato wedges in a single layer and pop the potatoes into the oven for 40 – 50 minutes, turning them half way through the cooking time, and cook until the potatoes have soaked up all the broth and they are golden brown.

Keep a very close eye on the potatoes as they near the end of their cooking time – once the broth has been soaked up the residue in the pan will burn quickly, making a terrible mess, and the potatoes will stick solidly to the bottom of the baking dish (ask me how I know!).

Step 2

Once the potatoes are on the go it’s time to get cracking on the meatballs. Place all meatball ingredients into a bowl and use your hands to mix well then roll into balls (just over 1” is a good size). Melt a pat of butter in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the meatballs and cook until nicely browned on one side, then use a spoon to turn them over then brown and cook through on the other side – total cook time for the meatballs will be about 20 minutes.

Step 3

While the meatballs are cooking, prep your tzatziki and salad. Place all tzatziki ingredients into a small bowl then mix well and set aside. Place all salad ingredients into a bowl, toss well and set aside.

Now is a good time to take a peek at the potatoes to make sure that there is still broth in the pan. If the broth has been absorbed, give the potatoes a stir and turn the heat down to 350° until the potatoes are golden and tender.

Step 4

When the potatoes and meatballs are done make a pool of tzatziki in the center of each of 4 plates. Use most of the tzatziki but reserve a little to drizzle over each salad. Add the potatoes, meatballs, and salad around the plate, on top of the pool of tzatziki, then sit down and enjoy the fabulous Mediterranean flavors of this amazing dinner!