Merguez Meatballs With Yogurt Sauce Recipe

ingredients

Meatballs
1 pound ground lamb, or beef (not too lean)
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper

Yogurt Sauce
1 cup plain lowfat yogurt
1/2 cup loosely packed fresh mint leaves
1/2 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves

directions

Put the meat in a large bowl and add the garlic, cilantro, vinegar, paprika, cumin, coriander, salt, and a generous grinding of pepper. Mix it with your hands until well blended. Set aside.

To make the sauce: Blend the yogurt, mint, and cilantro in a food processor fitted with the metal blade, or in a blender. (Meat mixture and sauce can each be made up to 1 day ahead, covered, and refrigerated separately.)

Preheat a broiler and adjust the rack so it is about 4 inches from the heating element.

Form the meat mixture into 1-inch meatballs and place them on a baking sheet with sides (work in batches if necessary). Broil the meatballs until they are no longer pink inside, about 8 minutes, shaking the pan once or twice so the meatballs cook evenly. Transfer them to paper towels to drain.

Skewer the meatballs with toothpicks and serve them immediately on a platter with the yogurt sauce in a small bowl alongside.

(Offer guests a small container or glass for depositing used toothpicks.)

nutrition data

Nutritional data has not been calculated yet.

reviews & comments

Valerie REVIEW:
March 12, 2008

The addition of vinegar to the meatball mixture worried us - but it really turned out great! Blending the yogurt with the herbs in a food processor will make it very thin - we would have preferred to hand-mix the chopped herbs into the yogurt so the texture remained thicker (more of a dipping sauce).

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