Whole30 Middle Eastern Kafta Meatballs

 

Whole 30, Paleo, And Gluten Free

Kafta is something I ate all of the time growing up.  It would often be made almost like a meatloaf or on skewers. I modified it a bit for convenience, and made it into meatballs.  I also used ground beef and ground pork mixed together, instead of ground lamb.  I usually make the meatballs really big.  One or two is all you need for a meal.  These meatballs freeze really well as well.

This recipe makes 12 large meatballs

Ingredients:

• 1  pound of grass fed ground beef.  ( I used a 85% to 15 % ratio from Butcher Box)
• 1 pound of ground pork
• 1/2 yellow onion
• 1/4 cup of parsley
• 1/2 cup of  freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 Tablespoon of sea salt
• 1 Tablespoon of allspice
• 1 Tablespoon of cumin
• 1 Tablespoon of turmeric

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees,
2. Dice onion.
3. Chop parsley.  I do this fairly rustically because I like seeing bits of green throughout each meatball.
4. In a separate little bowl, mix spices and salt together.
5. To a large mixing bowl, add the ground beef and pork.
6. Add the onion, parsley, and spices to the mixing bowl.
7. Add the lemon juice.
8. Mix with clean hands.
9. Form into large meatballs.  These will be wet, it is okay.  You will see liquid on the sheet pan and that is normal.  The lemon juice adds flavor and steams the meatballs a bit from the inside.
10. Place meatballs on a sheet tray lined with parchment paper.
11. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.
12. Once baked, switch the oven to broil and cook for another 8 minutes until the outside of the meatball crisps up a bit.
13. Serve alone or with Whole30 and Gluten Free Lemon Tahini Sauce/Dressing ,