With the beginning of Spring I start craving bright and light foods: more salads, citrus, fresh produce, etc. After a winter of hearty comfort foods, baked pastas, and lots of baked sweets, I’m ready for more fresh feel-good foods.
One of my go-to meals when I feel like I need something lighter is Greek style meatballs with some veggies and tzatziki. I use the word Greek super loosely because these are not authentic and not really Greek just because they have oregano in them, they are just different than classic Italian meatballs.
So I’m calling these “herby” meatballs – very savory and flavorful with herbs and aromatics as the main ingredients.
Single-serve tzatziki-style yogurt sauce
• 3-4 tbsp plain greek yogurt
• Half of a small cucumber, grated
• Half of a small garlic clove, grated
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Salt, pepper
Mix yogurt in a small bowl with olive oil, garlic, and salt and pepper.
Grate the cucumber on a separate plate, then transfer into the bowl with the yogurt and mix. I do it on a separate plate because a lot of water will come out, and I prefer to leave it out. But it’s not that serious.
Herby Meatballs
• 1 pound ground turkey or beef
• 1/2 cup parsley, finely chopped
• 1 small-medium sized onion, finely chopped
• 2-3 stalks green onion (white parts finely chopped, separated from green parts finely chopped)
• 2-3 small garlic cloves, grated
• 2 tbsp olive oil, for cooking onions
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp salt
Preheat your oven to 450° F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
Add the finely chopped onions to a small skillet along with the olive oil, and cook on medium-high heat until they soften. Then add the white parts of the green onion and the oregano, and cook for another few minutes. When everything is soft and lightly golden brown, turn off the heat and set aside.
In a large bowl, mix together the meat, parsley, green parts of green onions, garlic, and salt. Mix in the onion mixture as well, making sure to add all the olive oil that was used in the skillet.
Cook a small piece of the mixture in the skillet, as a test for seasoning. If it needs more salt or oregano, add some in before forming all the meatballs.
After testing and adjusting, form the mixture into small-medium sized meatballs, about 1 tablespoon each, and place them on the baking sheet. I was able to get 19 meatballs.
Cook in the oven anywhere from 20-40 minutes. They will be cooked after 20 minutes but take some extra time to get brown and a bit crispy, so it’s up to you how long to bake them for.
Once they’re done, serve with the yogurt sauce and any extra veggies or in a rice bowl. The possibilities are truly endless!
