A&M's Testing Notes:
Expand Collapseroseinparis's Notes:
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1.5 pounds
ground beef
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1
egg
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1
small red onion, grated
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1/2 cup
chopped mint
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1/4 cup
chopped parsley
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2
minced garlic cloves
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1 teaspoon
ground cinnamon
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1 teaspoon
salt
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1/2 teaspoon
ground black pepper
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1 bunch
small seedless grapes, red or green
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1 cup
plain yogurt
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1/4 cup
chopped mint
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2 tablespoons
grated lemon zest
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1
minced garlic clove
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salt and pepper to taste
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For the yogurt sauce: Mix all ingredients. It's best when made at least 30 minutes ahead of time, to allow flavors to meld.
Ask the hotline about this step!In a large bowl combine the first 9 ingredients in the meatball list. Don’t over-mix.
Ask the hotline about this step!Heat a frying pan with some vegetable oil and toss the grapes, lightly browning on all sides, remove and set aside.
Ask the hotline about this step!Shape meat mixture into small meatballs, fry in the pan, adding more oil if needed to make sure they don’t stick. The heat should be fairly high to ensure a good sear. Toss or turn to make sure all sides brown. Drain on some paper towel, allowing to rest for a few minutes.
Ask the hotline about this step!Assemble on large cocktail toothpicks: grape first, then meatball on the bottom. Serve with yogurt sauce for dipping.
Ask the hotline about this step!Yes, they can definitely be made ahead and re-heated. Regarding, turkey...I have never made this recipe with ground turkey, but as long as it's not too lean, it should work well.
Grilled or sauteed eggplant with Middle Eastern spices would be great. Maybe getting those small pita's and stuffing them with eggplant and serving them warm with the meatball skewars?
I have made these twice so far, once as an appetizer and the second time as a pita filling with shredded lettuce. Both times they were a hit. We moved into the pita arena because everyone wanted to eat them for dinner again! I used lamb as that is what we have in the freezer having recently purchased a locally grown lamb. Delicious.
Excellent recipe! I doubled the recipe and made half of the batch with ground turkey and the other half with ground pork. Both turned out really well, but my guests preferred the pork because they were obviously more "meaty". I was initially hesitant about the mint/cinnamon/grape combination but they really compliment eachother. The lemon zest was also a nice addition to the yogurt sauce.
Lots of compliments. I will make this one again :)
Thanks for a great recipe!
Congrats on coming in second, which is not a bad place to be!
Any suggestions on how to cook this ahead of time and re-heat the meatballs and grapes? Thanks!
both me and my hubby were hesitant about "fried grapes" - but it is amazing yummy! :) My recipe for this challenge was also a kefta style meatball - but yours is so easy and delicious. CONGRATS!
I made these tonight - so, so good! Thanks for sharing this great recipe.
This looked so good that I tried it instead of our usual Swedish meatballs recipe. Perfect for summer and such a refreshing change with the lovely yogurt sauce. You have my vote!
I just had kefta lamb meatballs with grapes at Aziza in SF. They were delicious. Look forward to trying these!
Yum! I LOVE Aziza! I thought of trying this great recipe with lamb too.
I was really bummed I didn't make the meatballs finals but now I know why. These look great and I am going to try them tonight! Congratulations.
I am in such awe of these recipes! Don't feel badly, but I have the same kind of feeling about my recipes after seeing these!
Lovely flavors and the grape to top it off - YUM. Congratulations on the Editors' Pick and good luck in the finals...voted!
this recipe looks scrummy (combo of, well, you know). i'm not a big fan of grapes, but i can tell they'll be perfect in this dish. and i've got them growing like crazy over the arbor on my deck right this very minute! look forward to trying this, stuffed in a pita, this weekend.
These look AMAZING. On the menu this weekend. Heck, maybe tonight. What do you think about making them with lamb?
Ground beef is usually easier for me to find, but it works with lamb too as the other flavors are strong enough that they don't get overpowered.
Wow! So interesting and completely delicious-looking...I don't really like lamb so I'm glad these are make with beef. The yogurt sauce looks great, too.
This sounds so wonderful!! And I love pan-fried grapes! I've done them a number of times with dishes and they sound perfect with this. Congratulations on being a finalist!!!
Your spiced meatballs with yogurt sauce sounds fabulous! I like the suggestion you made to serve them wrapped in pita bread. I think this sounds like a winner for sure.
So looking forward to trying this one!! Sounds just heavenly. Love the contrast of the tart yogurt and the sweet grapes. Mmmmmmm. ;o)
Congrats on being a finalist! I totally missed this one before. It sounds wonderful.
Thanks!
Great great recipe! I'm hosting a girl's book club tonight and this will be THE perfect nibble. (Well, it's really a trashy tabloid magazine club. But nevertheless, these will still be perfect.)
A trashy tabloid magazine club?? I LOVE it! I think that's what I need to join since I never seem to finish the books for my book club. :-)
Oh, yum. And you don't have to convince me about the grapes, either. I have a chicken dish floating around the site somewhere with roasted grapes in it :D
These sound fabulous! And you don't have to convince me about the grilled or pan-fried grapes. The whole thing sounds perfect for summer. Love, love, love the mint in the meatballs, and in the yogurt sauce!! Great recipe. ;o)
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Yogurt, ground beef, parsley, cinnamon, egg, lemon zest, mint, and grapes.
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With this recipe, it's best to start chopping mint right away -- you need 3/4 cup!
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Amanda zesting the lemon on her beloved Microplane zester!
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Garlic, mint, lemon zest, salt and pepper get folded into the yogurt and your sauce is made. Onto the meatballs!
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roseinparis instructs you to grate the red onion -- a box grater comes in handy for this task.
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Isn't the grated onion beautiful! And it's nice and moist, which helps keep the meatballs moist.
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In goes parsley, mint and garlic.
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Cinnamon is the secret ingredient and salt makes all the flavors come alive.
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Amanda browned the grapes in a hot pan greased with a slick of oil.
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War torn and tasty looking.
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Amanda mixing the meatballs -- she believes in digging in with your hands so you can gently turn and mix the meat without working it too much.
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One brave little meatball against the world.
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Kristen hops in to help out Amanda.
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Browning the meatballs.
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Browner. You want to cook them gently enough that they cook through before getting too dark.
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Time for assembly: short cocktail skewers work best for threading the grapes and meatballs.
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Then you can set them on a bed of yogurt sauce, like good little soldiers.
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Did you answer about doing these ahead and re-heating? would love to serve for a drinks party we are hosting, but need to be made beforehand if possible. Also, I am thinking turkey instead of beef, would that work?