Lamb and Feta Meatballs with Pomegranate Glaze

These meatballs use a combination of lamb and ground beef (although you can choose to use only lamb, if you prefer) and still manage to be relatively light thanks to a combination of crumbled feta, fresh bread crumbs and water. I serve them with a pomegranate glaze and rice as well as a yogurt mint sauce (recipe follows meatballs), but you can substitute a tomato-based sauce or no sauce at all if you prefer.  They are remarkably versatile.  Serves 4.

Ingredients 

1 lb. ground lamb

½ lb. ground beef (preferably 80/20 or 85/15)

½ medium/large or one small onion, very finely chopped

1 t. turmeric

1 t. cumin

2 t. seti berbere or other middle eastern spice blend (if you don’t have something appropriate, you can increase the cumin and Aleppo pepper, or add in other favorite spices as substitutions won’t hurt this recipe)

1 t. Aleppo pepper (more if you prefer a slightly spicier meatball)

½  cup fresh breadcrumbs (from French or sourdough loaf, if possible) torn into small piece by hand

¼ cup water

½ cup crumbled feta (preferably sheep’s milk)

2  t. salt

½ t. black pepper

1 egg, lightly beaten

For pomegranate glaze:

½ cup  or so Pomegranate molasses (enough to thickly coat the bottom of a pan)

½ t. Dijon mustard

1 t. honey

¼ t. salt

For yogurt-mint sauce

8 oz. full fat Greek yogurt

4 T. milk or water to thin

2t. chopped dill

1 garlic clove, finely minced OR, if available 3-4” piece garlic scape, very thinly sliced 

2 t. chopped mint

¼ t. salt

Grinding of black pepper

Preparation

1. Put the fresh breadcrumbs in a small bowl and pour water over and soak for 2-3 minutes.
2.  In a large bowl place the lamb, beef, onion, turmeric, cumin, set berbere (or other spice), Aleppo pepper, water soaked breadcrumbs (including any water that has not been absorbed), crumbled feta, salt pepper, and egg.  Mix together by hand (gloves are helpful because the mixture is sticky) until well combined.
3. If you have time ,refrigerate dough for 1 hour (and up to 8 hours or so) to make it easier to handle.
4. When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 425F.
5. With somewhat wet hands, roll meatballs into approximately 1 ½  inch diameter balls (about 30 grams each) and place on a baking tray with a rim to catch rendered fat. This should result in about 30-36 meatballs.
6. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the internal temperature of the meatballs is 160F.
7. While the meatballs are cooking you can make the pomegranate glaze and the yogurt mint-sauce, if using.
8. For the pomegranate glaze, place pomegranate molasses, Dijon mustard, honey and salt in a wide sauce pan or frying pan and bring to a gentle boil to reduce until quite thick. Turn off heat and leave until meatballs are done.
9. For the yogurt mint sauce: In a small bowl combine the yogurt, water or milk, dill, garlic, mint, salt and pepper. Stir thoroughly to combine and refrigerate until ready to use (can be made up to a day in advance).
10. When meatballs are done, use tongs or a slotted spoon to carefully lift them from the pan (leaving as much rendered fat as possible behind. Place into the sauce or frying pan with the pomegranate glaze and turn gently to coat.
11. If serving yogurt-mint  sauce, smear a think ribbon across the plate and place meatballs on top. Spoon extra glaze over the meatballs.