Ground Lamb Meatballs with Feta
Lamb meatballs with feta cheese, cumin and a touch of pilsner have the perfect texture. Light and juicy they taste great served over couscous with pine nuts, feta and mint and dipped in yogurt sauce. Or your choice of side.
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Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 562kcal
Ingredients
Lamb Meatballs
- 1 lb ground lamb lean
- 1 egg
- ½ cup bread crumbs
- ⅓ cup Pilsner*
- ⅓ cup crumbled feta sheep's milk, in brine is best
- 1-2 cloves garlic finely minced
- ¼ cup green onions sliced very thin
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- kosher salt and ground black pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoon olive oil optional***
Couscous
- 3 tablespoon butter
- ½ cup pine nuts
- 1 ½ cups Israeli couscous
- 1 ¾ cups chicken broth
- salt & pepper to taste
- ⅓ cup feta cheese crumbles
- fresh mint to taste
Instructions
LAMB MEATBALLS
- Bring the ground lamb to room temperature.
- Turn oven on to 350 F. Line a half sheet baking sheet (or two quarter sheets) with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a mixing bowl combine all the ingredients and mix using your hands until a uniform mixture is achieved.
- Dip fingers in a bit of olive oil and start to form small meatballs ( alternativley use a 1 tablespoon measure to make them uniform in size). Place the meatballs onto the prepared sheet pan.
- Bake for 20 - 25 minutes (depending on your oven's strength) and let cool down for a minute before brushing with olive oil (if needed).
COUSCOUS
- In a pan over medium-low heat melt 1 tablespoon butter and add the pine nuts. Stir and cook until they turn golden brown. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Melt the rest of the butter in the same pan over medium heat.
- Add the couscous and stir, cook until it is slightly browned.
- Add the chicken broth and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil.
- Stir well, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer until the couscous absorbs all the liquid.
- Remove from the stove, add the pine nuts, stir and let cool off slightly.
- Transfer to a serving platter, add the feta crumbles and mint and stir a little bit.
- Serve with the lamb meatballs and the yogurt sauce** on the side.
Notes
*Substitute with 3 tablespoon plain yogurt + 1 teaspoon baking soda for a very similar effect on the texture of the meatballs. Read the post for details.
**Use this recipe for yogurt sauce.
***If the ground lamb mixture has a lower fat content you can add 1 tablespoon of olive oil before you mix the ingredients and once the meatballs have been baked brush them with another 1 tablespoon to keep them from drying out.
Nutrition
Serving: 1g | Calories: 562kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 39g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 21g | Cholesterol: 139mg | Sodium: 729mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g
