Young or old, it’s the rare diner who is not in the mood for meatballs.
A versatile dish that spans many cultures and can be made with beef, pork, chicken, or even plant-based ingredients, meatballs are great as a standalone dish on top of rice or noodles, tucked into a pita, or stuffed into a roll as a sub.
The only problem is that if they’re made with lean meat or you overwork the balls while shaping them, they can fall apart during cooking—or worse, taste dry instead of moist and juicy.
Many meatball recipes bind the mixture and add tenderness with eggs and breadcrumbs or bread soaked in milk. But it’s OK to play around with other ingredients that will add that much-wanted moisture without making meatballs overly wet or fragile. For instance, try finely grated vegetables such as zucchini, carrots, and mushrooms; panko; ricotta cheese; yogurt; or tomato paste.
In this recipe, chopped frozen spinach, which is naturally high in moisture, is used to bind the meat. The trick is you have to wring it out really, really well using a clean dish towel after it thaws to make sure not even a drop of liquid remains. The addition of feta, especially if you take time to grate it, also helps create a more cohesive texture since it melts—slightly—during cooking.
These meatballs are seasoned with lots of garlic powder and dried oregano, but feel free to substitute fresh grated garlic if that’s your thing. They’re served with a bright and lemony yogurt sauce punctuated with dill.
They can be served hot out of the oven, warm, or at room temperature, with the sauce drizzled on top. If you need a good office lunch, tuck them into pita bread with lettuce and tomato for a Greek-style meatball sandwich.
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