We combine ground lamb with lots of fresh herbs, garlic and cumin to make super flavorful meatballs that cook quickly in a skillet. While these cook, thinly sliced cucumber and red onion get quick pickled in sherry vinegar to make a crunchy, acidic addition to meatballs. Aleppo pepper, a slightly smoky ground chile pepper, spices up the yogurt sauce that gets spread inside each pita pocket.
What we send: 1 small red onion (3 oz)
2 persian cucumbers (7 oz)
3 tablespoons sherry vinegar (1.5 oz)
2 cloves garlic (0.4 oz)
6 sprigs cilantro (1 oz)
½ teaspoon ground cumin (0.05 oz)
8 oz ground lamb
2 whole wheat pitas, halved (4.2 oz)
6 sprigs fresh mint (1 oz)
6 oz sheep’s milk yogurt
1 teaspoon aleppo pepper (0.08 oz)
olive oil
1 large egg
coarse salt
freshly ground black pepper
Equipment: Large skillet
Recipe Steps:
1.Pickle cucumbers
Peel, halve and thinly slice red onion. Cut ends off cucumbers then thinly slice on a bias. In a small bowl combine onion, cucumber, vinegar, and 1 tablespoon olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and toss to coat.
2. Prep garlic and herbs
Peel then very finely chop garlic. Remove leaves from cilantro and 2/3 of the mint stems then very finely chop.
3. Combine meat
Lightly beat egg in a medium bowl then add ground lamb, garlic, chopped herbs, cumin, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.
4. Shape meatballs
Shape mixture into 10-12 balls.
5. Cook meatballs
Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet over medium-high. Cook meatballs, until browned on all sides, about 8 minutes. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate.
- Season yogurt and assemble
Combine yogurt and aleppo pepper and season with salt to taste. Pick mint leaves off of remaining stems and cut pitas in half. Assemble pitas with meatballs, yogurt sauce, pickled cucumbers, and mint leaves. Serve extra pickled cucumbers on the side. Enjoy!
