Let Him Eat Greek

This month Saveur Magazine presents an issue dedicated to the food of Greece. It's a rustic cuisine of fresh seafood, tangy cheeses, lemony sauces, and hearty greens. I'm a fan of Greek food and have been since I was a kid -- my mother used to take me to our town's Greek restaurant, Acropolis, where I learned to love feta cheese, all manner of eggplant dishes and taramasalata, the creamy dip flavored with fish roe. Aside from lemony chicken or spinach pie, I rarely make Greek food at home. So, I excitedly broke into this issue as soon as it arrived and am already planning a Greek style dinner party with the recipes. I may cook them all. But first, thinking about our Hearst Ranch beef in the freezer and how much James loves it, I decided to start these Greek meatballs which Saveur says are a typical meze (the small plates that start Greek meals) of Northern Greece -- usually served with fried potatoes or rice.

I still had some of our home grown potatoes, so I cut them in to small pieces and popped them in a 400º oven coated with lemon juice, olive oil, oregano, and salt.

The simple meatball recipe turned out to be another good canvas for our home grown produce. Our garlic, bay leaves, tomatoes, parsley, eggs, lemons, and mint all helped flavor the zesty dish. This was my first go around with Greek meatballs (unless you count NYC diners) so I'm not sure if the soft almost crumbly texture is what the recipe intended but I think it will make a pretty nice meatball sandwich topped with roasted peppers and feta cheese.

More Saveur inspired Greek dishes to come.