FoodB

I am not a big fan of feta cheese. Personally I find feta to be very chalky and very salty. That being said there are a few times where I don't mind feta.

Jenn and I both enjoy Mediterranean meals and we really don't cook enough of it. So as part of last weeks menu she decided to go with a Bobby Flay recipe that incorporated a lot of ingredients that we enjoy. Once we realized that the recipe called for lamb loin chops (about $15 a pound with bones in them) we decided to get creative on this one. And below is the recipe that Jenn came up with to save our budget a bit:

Lamb Meatball w/Feta Yogurt, Tomato, and Cucumber Salad

Lamb Meatballs

1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon finely chopped lemon zest
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons finely chopped rosemary leaves
1 pound of ground lamb
4 pocket less pitas or Lavash
Salt and Pepper to Taste

Whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, zest, garlic and rosemary in a medium shallow baking dish, add lamb and turn to coat. Marinate in refrigerator for 2 hours.

Feta Yogurt Sauce

1 cup yogurt, drained
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Salt and Pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Tomato and Cucumber Salad

1 cucumber, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
2 tomatoes, cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 small red onion, finely sliced
2 tablespoons finely chopped mint
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Mix all ingredients together and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.

1. Pre-Heat oven 350
2. Take the lamb mixture and start rolling into meatballs (about an inch or so). Place in a heated pan with olive oil and cook on two sides for 2 to 3 minutes at a time to get a nice brown crust. Place meatballs on a baking sheet and bake in the oven no longer than 10 minutes.
3. Take the pita breads and put yogurt spread on them, some of the tomato and Cucumber salad and about 4 lamb meatballs.

Chefs Notes: This was my take on a Bobby Flay dish that I found, however he asked for lamb tenderloin and to grill it, however we can’t afford lamb tenderloin so we twisted the recipe some. I also used a English Cucumber because it has less seeds and used some of our little grape tomato’s from our garden that I cut in half and only one regular tomato for the bigger pieces and I think it came out rater nicely. I also drizzled a little bit of olive oil on the salad to give it a little flavor.

I really liked this one. When Jenn made my pita, she got a little happy with the feta sauce. I didn't mind the sauce itself I just didn't want a lot. Even with that minor, minor problem I liked it a lot. The next day I had enough to make 2 pitas at work and I have to say that they were the perfect hand food for eating in your car. Easy to reheat, easy to assemble and no mess. Good stuff all around.