Greek Meatballs and Lemon Couscous with Lemon Yogurt Dressing

Every once and a while I like to dig through my cookbooks and old cooking magazines to see if anything sparks an interest. The more I experiment with cooking and step out of my comfort zone, the more I find I like. If 5 years ago you tried to get me to eat a piece of sushi, I would have ran as far away as I could. 10 years ago I would have stuck up my nose at feta and couscous. I didn't know any better. I knew Italian food and I only knew the Italian food I grew up on. That was all great but there were so many things I didn't know, there was a whole other world of Italian food and of course, other cuisines I've never even seen. So going through these old magazines again are like going through them for the first time with a new set of eyes and a new set of taste buds. I found this particular recipe in a 2005 issue of Cuisine at Home. I used to get a subscription and I'm starting to think I should order it again. There are tons of great recipes and tips and no advertisements. It's about 50 pages of just recipes and photos!

This recipe was definitely a winner and I had all the ingredients so I followed the recipe exactly. Remember, if you don't have everything here you can still make this, it will just taste slightly different depending on what you substitute. However, I do want to recommend that you use the feta and the kalamata olives. They are excellent together and bring all the flavors together. I couldn't help but laugh to myself as I mixed oregano, scallions and feta into the meatballs. What would my grandmother think?! She'd definitely be horrified but she was so set in her ways that she wouldn't be able to understand that not all meatballs are Italian.

Greek Meatballs

from Cuisine at Home
Issue No. 52
August 2005

Makes 12 Meatballs

Ingredients:

1 cup breadcrumbs
1 cup milk
1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
2 Tbsp scallions, minced
1 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp dried oregano leaves
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 lb ground chuck
2 Tbsp olive oil
3/4 cup kalamata olives, pitted, halved
1 Tbsp garlic, minced
1 tsp red pepper flakes
6 cups tomatoes, quartered or 2 cans whole tomatoes (28 oz. each)
salt and pepper to taste
chopped cucumber
lemon zest
Lemon Couscous, see below
Feta Yogurt Dressing, see below

Directions:

Combine Crumbs milk, feta, parsley, scallions, salt, oregano and egg in a mixing bowl.

Stir in the ground chuck and mix lightly but well. Shape the mixture into balls about 2" in diameter.

Heat oil in a large saute pan over medium-high. Add meatballs and brown on all sides, about 5 minutes. Remove from pan and keep warm.

Add olives, garlic and pepper flakes to the pan and saute 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes and cook 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, return meatballs to pan, and simmer 5 minutes, or until cooked through.

Serve over couscous, topped with feta dressing and garnished with cucumber and lemon zest.


Feta Yogurt Dressing

Makes about 1/2 cup

Ingredients:

1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup plain yogurt
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

Directions:

Combine all ingredients and stir well. Cover and chill until ready to use.


Lemon Couscous

Makes 2 cups

Ingredients:

3/4 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 tsp kosher salt
3/4 cup dry plain couscous

Directions:

Bring broth, lemon juice, butter, and salt to a boil in a saucepan. Remove from heat, add couscous, stir, and cover. Let stand 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork.