These Lamb Meatballs with Yogurt-Tahini Sauce are baked and filled with cilantro, parsley, red onion and mint. They sit on a thin cucumber round for a little crunch.
When I first starting filming my LIVE cooking show on Facebook, it focused around creating appetizers, cocktails and mingling with friends. Since then, I’ve been developing a ton of small bite recipes for a new project I'm working on. I decided to make Fridays the day to share some of them. These recipes are great to whip up on the weekends if you have friends drop by. You can also make a mini meal by adding a simple green salad. A glass of wine would be nice too.
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Ingredients
- 1 pound ground lamb
- 1/4 cup fresh Italian parsley finely chopped
- 1/4 cup cilantro finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh mint chopped
- 1/4 cup red onion finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper optional
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon rice flour
- 1 egg lightly beaten
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cucumber peeled and cut into 1/4” thick rounds
For the Sauce
- 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
- 1/2 cup tahini
- 1 tablespoon fresh mint chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro chopped
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 24 small toothpicks
Instructions
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Preheat oven 375 degrees. Brush sheet pan with olive oil.
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In a large bowl, combine lamb, parsley, cilantro, mint, red onion cumin, paprika, salt, pepper, lemon juice, rice flour and egg.
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Using your hands, mix well. Form meat mixture into 1-inch meatballs.
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Place on sheet pan and bake for 30 - 35 minutes.
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In a small bowl, combine the yogurt, tahini, mint, cilantro, garlic, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Mix well.
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On a baking sheet or platter, lay out cucumber rounds.
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Spread a small amount of yogurt sauce on each cucumber.
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Place a small piece of parsley on top of each round if desired. Top each cucumber round with a meatball and insert toothpick to hold it all together. Serve immediately.
Recipe Notes
Small toothpicks will hold everything together. You can substitute ground chicken or turkey meat for the ground lamb.