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Herbed Lamb Meatballs in Pita with Yogurt Sauce

Take your taste buds on a little culinary adventure in this recipe that borrows from the foods of India and Greece. Anyone who has had a gyro will recognize tzatziki, the yogurt sauce that is delicious with lamb. This is a fun meal to set up buffet-style and let everyone build his or her own pitas. Enjoy with a salad and assorted fruit sorbets for dessert.

Ingredients:

Yogurt sauce: 1 c plain nonfat yogurt, 1/2 c diced English cucumber, peeled and seeded,
2 tbsp. fresh squeezed lemon juice
2 tbsp. minced, fresh mint leaves, salt (kosher) and freshly ground black pepper.
Meatballs:
1 lb. ground lamb
1/3 lb. ground pork
1/2 medium onion peeled and cut into 1/4" dice
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 tbsp. Made in Napa Valley Pork & Lamb Rub (or Tyler Florence American Provence Saesoning)
3/4 c fresh bread crumbs*
1 red bell pepper, seeds and veins removed, cut into long 1/4" wide strips, 1 package pita rounds, cut in half

Preheat broiler.

Mix the ingredients for the yogurt sauce together in a medium bowl.

Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.

In a large bowl mix together the ingredients for the meatballs and season with a couple of pinches of salt and grindings of pepper, using your hands to mix well.

Form the mixture into balls the size of golf balls (about 1-1/2 in diameter for approximately 24 meatballs).

Place the meatballs on a broiler rack and broil until cooked through, about 4 minutes per side for a total of 8 minutes.

To serve, place the pitas, meatballss and red pepper slices on a large platter next to the bowl of yogurt sauce.

Each diner can fill his or her pita halves with meatballs, red pepper slices and a spoonful of yogurt sauce.

*To make fresh bread crumbs, tear up day-old baguette or other bread and place in a blender or food processor, and pulse until you have fine crumbs.

Used in this recipe:

Herbed Pork and Lamb Rub

Tyler Florence American Provence Seasoning