Turkish Meatballs with cucumber & yogurt and pita
This meal was inspired by a recent trip to Turkey. The meatball kebabs were some of my favorite meals, and I wanted to share! We're going to double the meatballs (or roasted cauliflower) which will double as toppings for our Turkish pizza tomorrow night. Enjoy the mix of spices and if you have trouble finding za'atar, you can always order from Amazon or Penzey's.
Ingredients
- Onion - 1/2, diced
- Garlic cloves - 3, crushed or minced
- Parsley - 1/2 bunch, minced
- Ground beef and lamb - 2 1/2 lbs ((Choose any ratio or sub ground chicken or turkey))
- Cumin - 1 Tbsp
- Za'atar - 1 Tbsp
- Salt - 1 tsp + 1/4 tsp
- Chili powder - 1/2 tsp
- Skewers (opt) - 16
- Persian cucumbers - 1/2 lb, chopped
- Plain yogurt - 2 cups
- Lemon - 1/2 , juice of
- Pita or flatbread - 4
Nutrition Facts
Prep
- Onions / Garlic / Parsley - Prep as directed. (Can be done up to 3 days ahead)
- Meatballs - Mix together onions, garlic, and parsley with ground meat, cumin, za'atar, first part of salt, and chili powder. If you want to taste the meat for seasoning, make a small ball, and microwave it for 1 minute. Roll into long meatballs. Skewer if desired. (Can be done up to 1 day ahead)
Make
- Preheat oven to 425F (232C) degrees. Line a sheet pan with foil and then layer in cooling rack. Place meatballs onto cooling rack and bake for 12 to 16 minutes, rotating once midway through.
- While meat is cooking, chop cucumbers. Mix with yogurt, lemon juice, and second part of salt.
- Toast pitas right before serving. Save about 2/3 of the meatballs for tomorrow night's dinner and enjoy the rest tonight with pitas and cucumber & yogurt!
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Reviews
This meal has 49 reviews
Yogurt helped dryness. Good flavor
Very good - lots of flavor with the lamb, could use a bit more spice
Used about 1/3 lamb to 2/3 lean beef, and only needed about 1 cup of yogurt. We really enjoyed this meal, but like some of the other commenters, the meatballs were too large and took a really long time to cook. I'd recommend doing 8 skinnier "balls" rather than 4 larger ones.
I was able to find lamb at my local butcher's shop. It's not something they have out on the display so I had to ask for it. Went roughly half and half with lamb and ground beef. This tastes just like how my husband and I remember it from our various travels. We're both fans! It's very filling and pretty easy to put together.
We made this to use up the rest of the yogurt from the Mediterranean Chicken Packets recipe. Yum. I couldn't find Za'atar anywhere, until the local co-op suggested Mediterranean Specialties. I have been living here for 2 years and had no idea that store existed. Well let me tell you, it was a happy accident to find it! Thanks to this recipe, we found a gem of a little shop and cafe in town :) And Za'atar is, as my cashier said, like crack. It's so good.
Loved this! Made it with lamb and pork combo because that's what they had at my store. I served it wit sauteed zucchini and homemade tzatziki because my husband does not like cucumbers. Better than take out; I will be making this again soon.