Moroccan Lamb Meatballs with Tzatziki

For lunch today, I visited a Greek spot that's local to us in Arlington, VA and it really got me in the mood for lamb. I figured I would make lamb meatballs for dinner. Instead of going a true Greek route, I started searching for recipes and came across this one on ReceipeTinEats. I had leftover tzatziki sauce from lunch, so used that instead of making her yogurt sauce (although I will try it next time)! These came out full of flavor. I could see where they'd be great as appetizers as mini meatballs, or as a meal as larger meatballs. I decided to make mine a little larger than she recommended since it was our dinner. I served these with zucchini feta fritters that I made, but to be honest, I missed a step and messed up the fritters, so I will wait to post those! They still came out tasty, but stay tuned for those! For now, enjoy these amazing meatballs! Below is my adaptation. For the original recipe, you can find it here: https://www.recipetineats.com/moroccan-lamb-meatballs. You can eat these with a side, in a pita, or serve them as an appetizer - very versatile!

Ingredients:

1 lb ground lamb

1/2 cup yellow onion, diced

1/2 cup panko bread crumbs (or you can use regular bread crumbs)

1 egg, beaten

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup mix of fresh mint and cilantro, chopped

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp coriander

1 tsp smoked paprika

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp salt

dash of black pepper

DO NOT PUT IN MEATBALLS: 1 tb olive oil, if cooking on the stove (omit if you're baking these like I did)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 390 degrees. Line a baking pan with foil and place a rack on top. Make sure the rack is greased with nonstick cooking spray. Place all ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix well with your hands (except the oil). Once mixed, form into 1 tb balls if you want the mini meatballs, or go a little larger if that's what you prefer. I made them about 1.5 tb and it made about 16. Place the meatballs on the rack and bake for 20 minutes. If you're making the mini meatballs, 15 minutes should be sufficient. Serve with the tzatziki!