I know, it’s not healthy, it’s meat and even worse fried.. but come on, every now and then it can’t be that bad! my mom, every time she makes meatballs ‘keftedes’, she makes a lot (that’s common for Greek people, when they cook they cook as if they are eating with 10 instead of 2!). I remember her putting the full plate on the table saying ‘Grab one now that they’re still hot!’

 the recipe

ingredients

for the meatballs 

• 300gr. minced meat (pork & veal)
• 1 medium onion
• 1 egg
• 1 slice of old bread
• 2tbsp. milk
• 2tbsp. fresh parsley
• 2tbsp. fresh spearmint (or mint)
• 2tbsp. olive oil
• 1/2tsp. vinegar
• 1tsp. ouzo
• salt & black pepper
• some flour for the frying
• 70ml. olive oil for the frying

for the tzatziki

• 200gr. cucumber
• 130gr. Greek yogurt
• 1 small garlic clove
• 1tbsp. olive oil
• 1tsp. vinegar
• salt

directions

for the tzatziki

• Peel and wash the cucumber and grate it. Put it in the strainer and add some salt. Let it there at least for an hour and max. for three. It needs to take out all the water.
• After that, squeeze it with your hands really good so that all liquids are gone and add it in a bowl.
• Grate in there the garlic as well.
• Add the yogurt, olive oil, vinegar and salt and mix well. Try some in order to balance the flavors.
• When ready let it rest in the fridge till you prepare the meatballs.

for the meatballs

• In a big bowl add the ingredients for the meatballs apart from the frying ones (flour and extra oil). Especially for the slice of bread, you should soak it in the 2tbsp. milk and then cut it with your hands in really small pieces in the meat mixture.
• Mix well with your hands and let it rest in the fridge for 15′-20′
• When ready, put on the a deep frying pan the olive oil and warm it in medium-hot fire.
• With your hands make meatballs in the size you like them, just pay attention to make all of them more or less the same size so that all of them need the same frying time.
• When your meatballs are shaped and the oil is ready, cover the meatballs externally with some flour, lower the temperature a little bit and fry them into the hot oil. Make sure you don’t fry a lot of them at the same, so that you have a nice hot oil for crispy beatballs.
• Fry them for 4′-5′ from each side if they have a medium size or for 7′-8′ if they are bigger. In the end they should have a nice brown color and be crispy on the outside and soft inside.
• Serve with some tzatziki and…

Enjoy!

 

Tip!

• What’s also really nice with meatballs and tzatziki is some garlic bread and a Greek salad!