Lamb and Olive Balls Recipe

Ground lamb, feta cheese, olives, herbs, and spices make piquant meatballs great for sandwiches or in a sauce for pasta or simply as an appetizer.

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

• 3 slices bread, country-style white or whole wheat
• 2 pounds fairly lean ground lamb
• 1/4 pound feta cheese, crumbled
• 1 cup kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 Tablespoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 bunch cilantro, chopped
• 3 Tablespoons olive oil

Preparation:

Cut the crusts from the bread; soak the slices in water, wring them out, and crumble them. With your fingers, mix the lamb well with the bread, feta cheese, olives, egg, cinnamon, hot pepper flakes, garlic, and cilantro. Form into 10 large meatballs.

In a heavy frying pan, cook the meatballs in the olive oil until crisp and brown on one side; then turn and brown the balls on all sides, no more than 10 minutes, over a fairly high heat. The meat should be rare.

Yield: 10 meatballs