Here is a recipe you may not have thought of and now is the time to do it while you have plenty of fresh mint in your garden. This is a family favorite in our house. The inspiration came from “Greek Cooking for Everyone” by Theoni Pappas and Elvira Monroe. It’s a great little cookbook.
Meatballs with Egg Lemon Sauce
2 lbs lean ground beef
Onion cut up onto pieces
Fresh garlic to taste (we like at least 5 cloves)
Fresh mint leaves (a big bunch)
½ cup long grained rice
Fresh ground pepper to taste
Beef stock
Use a food processor to chop the onion, garlic, mint leaves. I stuff as many mint leaves as possible into the food processor because I love the flavor.
Mix the ground beef, rice, and chopped mint mixture in a large bowl. Grind some pepper in it to taste. Form meat balls with it. If your meatballs are too sloppy, mix in an egg and maybe a little more rice.
Brown the meatballs in a Dutch oven or a skillet over medium heat. Don’t crowd the meat balls or else they won’t brown. Another alternative is to bake them on a cookie sheet in the oven.
Add just enough beef stock to cover the browned meatballs, cover and cook until they are done.
Egg Lemon Sauce
3 eggs
2 lemons
Corn Starch
1 cup Beef Stock
Wisk the eggs in a small bowl until the white and the yolk are blended. Grate some of the zest off of the lemons and squeeze out the juice into another bowl. Slowly add the lemon to the eggs while beating to prevent curdling.
Heat up the beef stock.
Mix a teaspoon at a time of corn starch with a little cold water and whisk it into the beef stock until you get the desired thickness.
Slowly add the egg lemon mixture into the thickened beef stock, while stirring constantly with a whisk. The mixture should be smooth and creamy.
Use a slotted spoon to remove the meatballs from the stock, place them on a plate and ladle some of the egg lemon sauce over them. They make great leftovers too!
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