Meatball Mezze Platter
A family style, make your own plate dinner feels a bit like a party in our house. Everyone is free to take as much or as little as they’d like, so long as they have protein on their plate. My plate? It looks like a pile of deliciousness covered in a thick coating of yogurt sauce because I love this stuff so much, I could drink it. The meatballs are full of veggies, so you don’t have to worry if your kids don’t dive for the cucumber salad. The potatoes are full of minerals and carbohydrates to balance the whole plate out. Feel free to add some carrot sticks, hummus, pita bread, whatever will light your family up and celebrate that ordinary Tuesday night that you get to spend together!
Ingredients:
Makes 8 servings
Meatballs:
1 egg, well beaten
½ cup bread crumbs (i love making my own in the blender with stale sourdough bread)
⅓ cup freshly grated pecorino or parmesan cheese
4 cloves of garlic, grated
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 small zucchini, grated
2 pounds ground meat (I like beef or lamb here, but turkey or chicken would work as well), close to room temperature
Roasted Herby Potatoes:
2 pounds red baby potatoes, cut into even pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon garlic powder
Tomato & Cucumber Salad:
4 small cucumbers (or 2 large), roughly chopped into bite sized pieces
1 pint cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 shallot, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Yogurt Sauce:
1 cup greek yogurt
juice of one lemon
1 handful of fresh herbs like parsley, dill, and cilantro, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, grated
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, mix the egg (well beaten first!) with the bread crumbs, grated cheese, garlic, salt, oregano, cumin, and grated zucchini. Stir it until well combined. Add the meat to the bowl and give it a gentle mix with your hands. I find that if I let the meat come to room temperature for an hour or so before mixing the meatballs it’s much easier to mix. Otherwise, you need to use a heavy hand which makes for dense meatballs! Scoop about 2 tablespoons of the mixture and roll into a ball to set onto the baking sheet. Repeat until the mixture is all used up. Pop them in the oven to bake for about 30-35 minutes.
Meanwhile, quarter the baby potatoes and toss with the olive oil, salt, dried oregano, and garlic powder. Spread onto another parchment lined baking sheet and pop in the oven as well. They should be done cooking around the same time.
While the meatballs bake, let’s mix up the salad. You’ll get a large bowl and add your chopped cucumber, quartered cherry tomatoes, sliced shallot, red wine vinegar, olive oil, and salt and pepper. Toss it all together and cover. Pop it in the fridge to let the flavors mingle.
Now, we’ll mix the yogurt sauce. Get a small bowl and mix the yogurt sauce ingredients together well. Set it aside. Do some dishes and by now your meatballs and potatoes should be done. Pile it all onto a platter or serve family style at the table and let everyone make their dream plate! You can even add some pita bread, hummus, feta cheese, and whatever else you think your crowd will enjoy! Have fun ;)
