I grew up an hour south of Chicago and our town had a decent Greek influence. My favorite restaurant to indulge at was George’s Gyros. You would get that bad boy wrapped in tin foil and the grease would still pour out the bottom. This is my take on a Greek meatball with a refreshing tzatziki sauce. You can enjoy the meatballs dipped in the tzatziki, or you can create a bowl and layer on the veggies.

Ingredients:

Meatball:

2 pounds ground lamb

½ red onion finely sliced

4 cloves minced garlic

½ tsp ground cumin

½ teaspoon dried oregano

½-1 tsp red pepper flakes

¼ teaspoon black pepper

2 tsp salt

1 TBS chopped fresh dill

1 TBS chopped fresh parsley

1 TBS chopped fresh mint

Tzatziki Sauce:

1 cup Greek yogurt

1 seeded English cucumber

2 cloves garlic

½ cup fresh dill

1 tsp salt

Juice from one lemon

Optional Toppings for Creating a Bowl:

Jasmine rice

Cherry tomatoes, sliced

Lemon juice

Kalamata olives (I prefer pitted)

Lightly sauteed red onion and green pepper

Mint, dill, parsley, or any leftover herbs from making the meatballs

Feta cheese

Dried oregano for sprinkling

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper for ease of cleanup.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine all of the meatball ingredients. This can be done with a fork, but is a lot easier with your hands.
4. Once everything is combined, divide the meat into 16 portions and roll into meatballs and evenly spread out on the parchment lined baking sheet. This will make each meatball roughly 2 ounces of ground lamb.
5. Bake the meatballs for approximately 25-30 minutes, or until all of the pink is gone from the center of the meatball.

While the meatballs bake, it is time to prepare the tzatziki sauce and chop any toppings you would like to add.

1. Combine all of the tzatziki ingredients into a blender, magic bullet, or food processor. Turn on the food processor and pulse until everything is a smooth consistency. If you like a thicker tzatziki, simply mix in additional Greek yogurt. Getting a seedless cucumber, or seeding the English cucumber prior to blending will also help the tzatziki have a thicker consistency.
2. Chop any toppings you would like to if you are making a salad or a bowl. This is also the time to prepare rice.

Once the meatballs are done in the oven, layer the rice, meatballs, tzatziki and veggies. Sprinkle feta cheese and dried oregano on top and enjoy!

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