Lemon Meatballs with Tahini
Impress your family and friends with these tasty meatballs made with ground beef, fresh cilantro, fresh basil and walnuts, and flavored with lemon and lots of spices in a rich tahini sauce.
What do you serve meatballs with? This Lemon Meatballs with Tahini dish is great on its own or you can also serve over plain rice or with bread.
If you like these Middle Eastern meatballs, you might also like these Meatballs with Peanut Sauce or these Meatballs in Marinara Sauce.
Yield: Serves 4
- 650 g extra lean ground beef
- 1/3 cup plain dry bread crumbs
- 1 medium onion, grated
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- vegetable oil
- 1 egg
- 1 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
- 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil
- zest of 1 lemon
- 1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 1/4 teaspoons ground cardamom
- 3/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup tahini
- 4 tablespoons lemon juice (or more depends on your taste)
- salt
- water
For meatballs:
For tahini sauce:
Place the ground beef, onion, garlic, bread crumbs, egg, cilantro, basil, lemon zest, walnuts, cinnamon, cardamom, turmeric, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Mix everything together using your hand, until well mixed.
Shape the meat mixture into small meatballs.
Heat 3-4 tablespoons oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Brown the meatballs on all sides (Do not crowd the pan by stacking the meatballs. Cook in a single layer. Do not over-cook). Add more oil if needed.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Line a large baking dish with parchment paper. Place the meatballs on a baking dish and bake for about 12 minutes, or until cooked through.
Meanwhile make the sauce by mixing the tahini and lemon juice, and adding enough water to make a thin sauce (I added about 2/3 cup water). Add salt to taste.
Pour the tahini sauce over the meatballs and garnish with cilantro and walnuts.
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I cant wait to try this recipe! Do you have any suggestions as to what to serve with this? Thanks!
@Teresa, I usually serve this dish with mashed potatoes or bread. I hope you like it :)
These were extraordinarily good! The meatballs themselves were delicious, and the tahini sauce made them unique. Will definitely make them again!
Try thinning the tahini with a combination of citrus juices not only lemon juice, mix Seville orange juice, lemon juice, grapefruit and mandarins juice .