An important element among Lebanon’s cold meze dishes. There are many different recipes for this dish, and they all use various herbs. Traditionally the meat is mashed by hand; here we have chosen to use ground beef. Preferably, request to have the meat ground twice.
10 SERVINGS (AS A STARTER)
INGREDIENTS
- 18 ounces (500 g) lamb or veal
- 9 ounces (250 g) crushed wheat
- Salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- Chopped fresh mint leaves, according to taste
- Chopped fresh basil leaves, according to taste
- 1 small yellow onion, grated
- Peel of 1 lemon
- Olive oil
INSTRUCTIONS
- Mix ground meat with crushed wheat in a blender or a mortar.
- Add salt, cinnamon, chopped mint leaves, chopped basil leaves, grated onion, and lemon zest to the meat mixture. Work together into an even and smooth batter.
- Place the ground meat mixture on a platter and shape it into meatballs. Cut patterns on the surface of each meatball with a sharp knife.
- Garnish with extra mint leaves and onion wedges.
- Drizzle the meatballs with olive oil.
