Lamb Meatballs With Cucumber Mint Yogurt and Couscous

Name: Lamb Meatballs With Cucumber Mint Yogurt and Couscous
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 30 golf ball sized meat balls
Ingredients: 1/2 cup breadcrumbs; 1/4 cup milk; 1 lb ground lamb; 1 cup blanched almond, toasted and ground; 1/3 cup chopped onion; 1/3 cup raisins, coarsely chopped; 1 egg, lightly beaten; 3 garlic cloves, minced; 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley; 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro; 1 tablespoon chopped of fresh mint; 1/4 teaspoon chili pepper flakes; salt & freshly ground black pepper; 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more; olive oil, for drizzling; 1 teaspoon chopped parsley; 1 cup yogurt; 1 cup cucumber, peeled, seeded and coarsely grated; 1/4 cup mint, minced; 3 tablespoons lemon zest, minced; kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper; couscous

Submitted by MarraMamba

"Chef Ivy Starks creation for "chef on a shoestring budget". prep does not include the 4 hour time to drain yogurt"

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photo by mliss29

Ready In:: 45mins
Ingredients:: 22
Yields:: 30 golf ball sized meat balls

ingredients

¹⁄₂ cup breadcrumbs
¹⁄₄ cup milk
1 lb ground lamb
1 cup blanched almond, toasted and ground
¹⁄₃ cup chopped onion
¹⁄₃ cup raisins, coarsely chopped
1 egg, lightly beaten
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon chopped of fresh mint
¹⁄₄ teaspoon chili pepper flakes
salt & freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more
olive oil, for drizzling
1 teaspoon chopped parsley
Moroccan Yogurt Sauce (use 2 cups)
1 cup yogurt
1 cup cucumber, peeled, seeded and coarsely grated
¹⁄₄ cup mint, minced
3 tablespoons lemon zest, minced
kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper
couscous

directions

In a small bowl, soak bread crumbs in milk. In a medium bowl, combine the lamb, almonds, soaked bread crumbs, onion, raisins, egg, garlic, parsley, cilantro, and chili pepper flakes. Season lightly with salt and pepper.
Drizzle olive oil onto a sheet pan you will place the meatballs on and rub oil into the palm of both hands.
Form meat mixture into meatballs 1/2-inch in diameter. The recipe makes about 30 golf ball-sized meatballs.
Heat oven to 400, place meatballs on a baking sheet and cook about 12 minutes until heated through.
Yogurt sauce:
Place the yogurt in a sieve lined with cheesecloth. Allow to drain at least two hours to overnight.
Toss the cucumber in 2 teaspoons salt and place in a sieve to drain for at least two hours.
Combine in a medium bowl, the yogurt, cucumber, mint, and the preserved lemon. Season with salt and pepper.
Serve warm over couscous and drizzled with yogurt sauce and, parsley and sesame seeds.

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Reviews

Well, I think I dirtied up every pan in the house, but it was worth it! This was really good! I believe my husband said, "wow!", "this is awesome", "this is a really delicious dish", etc. There are really a lot of flavors, all contributing to the overall wow. Mostly I obeyed the directions, but I used ground turkey, 2 tsp dried parsley, no cilantro, and no chili pepper flakes. And I only drained the yogurt & cukes about 1.25 hours (because I forgot to prepare ahead), but they were fine. My husband said the only thing to change "the next time you make this" would be to double the sauce. Thank you so much for this tasty dish! Made for Newest Zaar Tag, 08A.

mliss29

RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

MarraMamba

http://www.recipezaar.com/members/home/527607/cookswithcattitude.jpg I am a middle aged foodie who has had the luxury of living all over the world except asia. Lived in or grew up in Nigeria, Kenya, Chicago, Russia,and haiti. born in New Zealand, brother born in Austria and many more. I have chronic medication resistant depression after 10 years on anti depressants that worked well but would stop working after a year or two, so now do my best at home living on disabilty. Not a bad thing, many have far worse health issues but i have been able to concentrate on food/cooking. My main passions are my cats. I live in the woods and somehow many starving strays or "dumps" have found the message babies who passed on left in the woods saying "suck lives at xxxx road. Most arrive sick and/or starving. Right now i have 2 that arrived with feline herpes and their attendant 2ndry bacterial infections but are doing beautifully. One old man who was going to be euthanized bc a lady who found him as a stray was moving and didnt want him...well he was a biter and rather grumpy who was in ICU for 3 days with a deadly gut infection which was fixed but he left with a diagnosis of diabetes. 3 months on insulin and finally diet controlled and he caught the herpes virus, respiratory symptom version and turned into a cuddler. Butterscotch must think "why didnt i figure out this cuddle stuff was great before i got sick!" Doing wonderfully even though he has bouts. he and the other kids are my babies. Sadly Butterscotch died of Lymphatic cancer in winter of 2008. A year before Big Boy arrived in my life, starving and weak. Full of affection he jumped into my arms and stayed, turns out he has FIV (cat hiv) so he needs to be watched closely. I love him dearly <img src="http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/permanent%20collection/Adopted1smp.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket"> <img src="http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/permanent%20collection/smPACp.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket"> <img src="http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b280/carolinamoon21/Stockingswapcopy.jpg"> <img src="http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/permanent%20collection/participantbannerzwt5.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"> <img src="http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y53/DUCHESS13/cookbookswap.jpg"> <img src="http://www.caymandesigns.com/foodothers/fallswap.jpg">

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