Sun Dried Tomato, Mint and Feta Greek Meatballs with Tzatziki Sauce

• By
• Catherine Roscoe Barr

Image by Catherine Roscoe Barr
These Greek meatballs are bursting with the flavour of fresh herbs, garlic and feta cheese

These meatballs require a few ingredients you may not have on hand and a little bit of elbow grease, but they’re well worth the effort

This is a really fresh meal with lots of colour, vitamins and nutrients, and it makes a great lunch to take to work the next day. Be sure to pack the meat, vegetables and pita separately so they don’t get soggy.

I always double this recipe and freeze half for later so that I can use up most of the fresh herbs and be rewarded for my efforts at another point sometime in the future when all I need to do is pop the frozen meatballs in the oven and whip up a salad and some more tzatziki sauce.

Note: most recipes for tzatziki sauce say to place the chopped or shredded cucumber in a sieve, sprinkle with salt, and let drain to avoid a watery mixture but I prefer to take the lazy route and skip that step, and accept a not-so-thick mixture.

According to Canada’s Food Guide this meal serves 6 

Ingredients

• 500 g extra lean ground beef
• 2 tbsp fresh oregano (or 1 tbsp dried)
• 2 tbsp fresh mint leaves, chopped
• 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp sun dried tomatoes, minced
• 2 tsp pepper
• 1/2 cup feta cheese, finely crumbled
• 2 tsp lemon juice, freshly squeezed
• tzatziki sauce
  • 3/4 cup plain yogurt
  • 1/2 cup cucumber, grated
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1/2 tsp dill

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Combine first 9 ingredients in a large bowl and use hands or electric mixer to mix well.
3. Form mixture into about 20 2-inch balls or 10 patties (these can be frozen for up to a month so I made double the recipe and froze half).
4. Bake meatballs or patties for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until meat is no longer pink in middle.
5. Meanwhile, combine yogurt, cucumber, garlic and dill in a small bowl, stirring well to combine.
6. Serve meatballs and tzatziki with lettuce, tomatoes, and a whole wheat pita, with either everything alongside the pita or stuffed inside it.