Spiced Meatballs with Yogurt Sauce

Martha Stewart, Star-Telegram

(appetizer, Moroccan, beef, Greek yogurt, rice, sauce )

Yogurt turns surprisingly velvety and decadent when cooked with cornstarch and egg yolks. Serve it over meatballs seasoned with a combo of cinnamon, cumin and cilantro, and you've got an updated Turkish kofta.

Comment: Read the instructions before deciding to make this. It is good, but there are a lot of steps involved.

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

Meatballs
¼ C EVOO
1 large onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic — 3 minced, 3 sliced
Kosher salt
1½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ C Panko breadcrumbs
1¼ C low-sodium chicken broth
1½ lb ground beef
1 large egg
½ C cilantro, coarsly chopped

Sauce
3 large egg yolks
1½ C greek yogurt
1 Tbsp cornstarch
salt and black pepper to taste

For Serving
cooked rice
cilantro, coarsly chopped
Ground sumac and red-pepper flakes

Instructions

Meatballs

1. Onion paste: In large straight-sided skillet, heat 2 tbsp oil over medium heat. Add onion, minced garlic and 1½ tsp salt; cook, stirring until translucent, about 3 min. Add cumin and cinnamon, and cook stirring, about 1 min. more. Transfer mixture to food processor; process to a paste.
2. Meatballs: In a bowl, combine breadcrumbs and ¼ C broth; let stand 5 min. Add beef, onion paste, whole egg and cilantro. Mix with your hands to combine. With lightly dampened hands, form mixture into 28 meatballs (about 2 Tbsp. each).
3. Meatballs continues: Heat 2 Tbsp oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches (do not crowd pan), cook meatballs until browned on all sides, about 7 min a batch. Transfer to a plate; pour off fat from skillet. Return meatballs to pan; add ¾ C broth and sliced garlic. Bring to a boil then cover, reduce heat to low and simmer just until meatballs are cooked through, about 6 min. Transfer meatballs to a plate with a slotted spoon.
4. Sauce: In a bowl, whisk together egg yolks and yogurt. In another bowl, whisk together cornstarch and remaining ¼ C broth. Whisk cornstarch mixture into broth and garlic mixture in skillet. Bring to a boil whisking constantly, then strain through a sieve into yogurt mixture, stirring to combine.
5. Sauce continues: Return yogurt mixture to skillet and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until just bubbling and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 1 min; season with salt and black pepper. Add meatballs to sauce and heat through.
6. Serve over rice, sprinkled with sumac, red-pepper flakes and cilantro.

Variations:

• Serve on toothpicks with the yogurt sauce on the side for dipping.
• Add diced cucumbers, lemon juice, and fresh dill to yogurt sauce.
• Serve with couscous instead of rice.
• Or instead of plain old boring white rice, substitute a rice mix that includes brown rice, wheat, barley and wild rice. The more variety in the rice mix the more flavor it will have.

Nutritional Analysis per serving: 509 calories, 39 g fat, 12 g carbohydrates, 29 g protein, 235 mg cholesterol, 152 mg sodium, 1 g dietary fiber, 68 percent of calories from fat.