TBT Recipe: Spiced Lamb Meatballs with Garlicky Yogurt Sauce

With football season winding down, it is time for the Big games. So for this Sunday or in two week with the Super Bowl itself, you'll need some party food. From our archieves of 2014, these meatballs are football perfection. You can make a bunch and devour one quarter at a time.

Spiced Lamb Meatballs With Garlicky Yogurt Sauce

Yield: about 40 enough for around 6 [maybe]

Ingredients:

For the sauce:

1 cup plain yogurt
2 cloves garlic minced
1 tsp. lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste

For the meatballs:

Nonstick cooking spray
2 slices firm white sandwich bread
Water
1 pound ground lamb, preferably grass fed
3 green onions white and green parts minced
¼ cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 large egg
1 ½ teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
¼ tsp. cayenne
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
1 ½ teaspoons sea salt

Preparation:

Prepare the sauce: In a small serving bowl, stir together the yogurt, garlic, lemon juice, salt and pepper until well blended. Set aside at room temperature until serving.

Prepare the meatballs: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray the foil with cooking spray.

Remove the crusts of the sliced bread and grind in a food processor. Sprinkle the crumbs with 2 tablespoons of water and toss to moisten evenly.

In another bowl, add the lamb, green onions, most of the parsley (save a small amount to garnish the sauce), the egg, cumin, paprikas, pepper, allspice, the moistened bread crumbs and salt and mix together gently with your hands. Scoop up a heaping teaspoon of the mixture; shape into a ball between your palms, and place on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat to shape the remaining mixture. You should have about 40 meatballs total.

Bake the meatballs until browned and cooked through, about 15 minutes.

Alternately, you can brown the meatballs in 2 Tbsp. of oil in a sauté pan and finish cooking on a sheet pan in the oven. [This gives a better taste, trust me!]

Transfer the meatballs to a warmed platter and place the sauce alongside for dipping. Garnish with the reserved minced parsley. Serve right away with cocktail picks for spearing.