Delicious Recipes for Greek Meatballs and Tzatziki

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Many of us are spending much more time at home right now, and family cooking is becoming one of our new go-to pastimes. Food experts around the world have certainly noticed the changes in our cooking habits. Some are even predicting that this new cooking-at-home trend is here to stay. So why not involve your kids and teach a bit about culture at the same time?! These recipes for meatballs and tzatziki sauce are among my favorites and have long been part of my family. An added plus is that there are plenty of places along the way where kids can have fun helping out!

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients to be Mixed in the Blender

• A handful of fresh parsley and dill
• 2 eggs
• 2 small onions/1 big
• 3-4 big mature tomatoes
• 1 carrot (medium size)
• A spoonful dried oregano
• Pepper/salt

Other Ingredients

• 600gr (a little over 1lb.) fresh minced beef
• 400gr (a little under 1lb.) fresh minced pork (or just beef if your family doesn’t eat pork)
• Bread crumbs/old bread (but not the crust), dipped into water and then the water squeezed out

Instructions

• Mix all ingredients with your hands in a big bowl. If needed, add more tomatoes or water
• Let stand in the fridge for 30 minutes
• Mold the meatballs
• Put some extra virgin olive oil on the cooking tray and then place the meatballs
• If desired, place small slices of tomatoes on top of each meatball. Or, put a few more tomatoes in the blender and pour the juice over the meatballs. This can really enhance the flavor!
• Preheat the oven to 250°C (450°F) and cook for approximately 30 minutes.

Add a little tzatziki – either on a Greek salad or as a sauce for the meatballs – to complete your delicious meal!

Tzatziki (Greek Cucumber Yogurt Dip)

Tzatziki is the perfect complement to grilled meats and vegetables. There are different variations, but this is the way we always made it at home.

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

500gr (16oz.) of full-fat Greek yogurt
4-5 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely minced (2-3 cloves if you don’t like a strong garlic flavor)
2/3 of 1 cucumber, trimmed, all juice squeezed out with your hands
2 big spoons extra virgin olive oil
2 big spoons white vinegar
A handful of fresh mint leaves, chopped
A pinch of salt

Instructions

Place all ingredients into a bowl. Mix with a spoon until well combined. If you can wait, let it chill for a while in the fridge before serving.

Variations: Mint is my personal favorite, but you can replace it with dill or grated carrot.

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Elisavet Arkolaki

Elisavet Arkolaki is the author of the unique concept children's book 'Where am I from?', the guidebook 'How to Raise Confident Multicultural Children', and the picture book 'Happiness Street', published in English, Spanish, Greek, bilingual English-Spanish and bilingual English-Greek. She's also an online marketer (MSc), a certified teacher of two foreign languages (Bachelor), and the co-founder of an international translations company. She's passionate about global learning, traveling, building cultural understanding and sensitivity, languages, books. She raises her children in-between countries, cultures, and languages. You will find her blogging on www.maltamum.com and her books on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Elisavet-Arkolaki/e/B0849XYFZZ

Latest posts by Elisavet Arkolaki (see all)

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