Keftethes are Greek fried meatballs, very similar to the middle eastern kefte (you may have had these in a middle eastern or Lebanese restaurant). Open the windows and get ready to clean your burners! However, the frying is totally worth it for these delicious little balls of heaven. You can serve them as an appetizer or a complete meal with Greek spaghetti or salad. They also taste great with some pita and tzatziki. They are even better the next day cold out of the fridge (if you like cold food...I am a sucker for cold pizza).
Ingredients:
4 T olive oil + 1 T olive oil
1/2 lb ground chuck
1/2 lb ground sirloin
1 medium onion, grated (on a grater or food process0r)
1 clove garlic, minced
2 t ground cumin
1 egg
1 piece of french bread, crust removed
1/4 C grated kefalotiri cheese
1/4 C chopped fresh parsley
salt & pepper
1/4 C flour
Directions:
dampen french bread with water, squeeze to release water, and crumble in your hands.
combine the chuck, sirloin, 1 T olive oil, onion, garlic, cumin, egg, bread, cheese, parsley, and salt & pepper in a bowl.
mix with hands until ingredients are blended.
heat 4T olive oil in skillet over medium-high heat.
roll half of mixture into 1 inch balls and dredge in flour.
place in oil and fry until cooked through, turning occasionally (about 7 - 9 minutes).
transfer keftethes to a plate covered with paper towels.
repeat with remaining meat mixture.
tips & extras
"tester" ball - Create a "tester" ball to taste the flavor. Roll one meatball, dredge in flour, and fry. Taste and adjust ingredients as necessary.
salt - The cheese has a lot of salt, so be careful how much you add to the original mixture. I like to create a tester and then see if it needs more salt.
cumin - Depending on the quality of your cumin, you might need more than 2 t. It really creates the flavor in these meatballs, so make sure you have enough (use the tester meatball to check). If you have a spice grinder, grind the cumin on your own and it will be even better!
meat - I combine sirloin & chuck to make it a little lighter. You can use all chuck or all sirloin (all depends on the amount of fat you want).
healthier keftethes - When I don't want to fry and want something healthy, I make these with lean ground turkey and grill them. You need to make the keftethes more into a patty-like shape to hold up on the grill, but they are still really delicious.
frying - Use a splatter screen for easier cleanup. These don't need to be deep fried, but there has to be enough oil to coat the skillet.
bread - You can skip this step and just use some bread crumbs.
mixing - Don't overmix the meatballs or they will be mushy.
size - Smaller meatballs (more work) for appetizers, large meatballs for a main course. Serve with toothpicks for apps.
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| keftethes |
Ingredients:
4 T olive oil + 1 T olive oil
1/2 lb ground chuck
1/2 lb ground sirloin
1 medium onion, grated (on a grater or food process0r)
1 clove garlic, minced
2 t ground cumin
1 egg
1 piece of french bread, crust removed
1/4 C grated kefalotiri cheese
1/4 C chopped fresh parsley
salt & pepper
1/4 C flour
Directions:
dampen french bread with water, squeeze to release water, and crumble in your hands.
combine the chuck, sirloin, 1 T olive oil, onion, garlic, cumin, egg, bread, cheese, parsley, and salt & pepper in a bowl.
mix with hands until ingredients are blended.
heat 4T olive oil in skillet over medium-high heat.
roll half of mixture into 1 inch balls and dredge in flour.
place in oil and fry until cooked through, turning occasionally (about 7 - 9 minutes).
transfer keftethes to a plate covered with paper towels.
repeat with remaining meat mixture.
 |
| get ready to use your hands and mix! |
 |
| get ready to roll |
 |
| coat each meatball in flour |
 |
| tester ball! |
 |
| batch 1 |
 |
| second batch |
 |
| transfer to a plate with paper towels |
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| yum |
"tester" ball - Create a "tester" ball to taste the flavor. Roll one meatball, dredge in flour, and fry. Taste and adjust ingredients as necessary.
salt - The cheese has a lot of salt, so be careful how much you add to the original mixture. I like to create a tester and then see if it needs more salt.
cumin - Depending on the quality of your cumin, you might need more than 2 t. It really creates the flavor in these meatballs, so make sure you have enough (use the tester meatball to check). If you have a spice grinder, grind the cumin on your own and it will be even better!
meat - I combine sirloin & chuck to make it a little lighter. You can use all chuck or all sirloin (all depends on the amount of fat you want).
healthier keftethes - When I don't want to fry and want something healthy, I make these with lean ground turkey and grill them. You need to make the keftethes more into a patty-like shape to hold up on the grill, but they are still really delicious.
frying - Use a splatter screen for easier cleanup. These don't need to be deep fried, but there has to be enough oil to coat the skillet.
bread - You can skip this step and just use some bread crumbs.
mixing - Don't overmix the meatballs or they will be mushy.
size - Smaller meatballs (more work) for appetizers, large meatballs for a main course. Serve with toothpicks for apps.
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