jane's joint: Med-Fest

Can we all agree that the Mediterranean diet is superior in every way? We can? Good, that's decided. Lebanese of course wins top prize. duh. But those Greeks know what's up in the food department, as do their brethren across the Ionian/Adriatic. This week was an explosion of yummy Mediterranean love.

At book club a couple weeks ago my friend Sheila Kaminski (hi Sheila!) served one of those meals in which every bite just explodes with flavor. She is a pro and I expect a lot from dinner at her house, but wow, she served these Greek meatballs that blew my mind. (Sheila: Stop calling them chicken balls!)

So I googled some Greek (meat)balls recipes and found this one, and made the full recipe for me, Doug and Noah while Dylan was at football camp. It makes two dozen. I had four leftover! So I served it again for some friends this week. Friends - you will not regret it.

But here's the best part: all the herbs used in this recipe came from ETHS! I signed up for their CSA boxes this summer - every Thursday I stop by the kitchen loading dock and pick up a box. It's been a cooking challenge - there's only so much one can do with radishes and turnips, in my humble opinion, but the herbs and greens have been AMAZING. So all the dill, parsley and mint in this recipe came from our own, beloved Evanston Township High School gardens. How cool is that?

Where were we? Oh, Greek balls! They're from JuicyBites, which is a terrific food blog. (Is it ok to re-blog a food blogger? I think it is, as long as you give credit where credit is due, right?)

Here we go:

Greek Chicken Meatballs

Preheat oven to 400.

Mix 1/3 cup whole milk with 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs until the liquid is absorbed.

Add:

2 pounds ground chicken (preferably organic)
1 small onion, chopped very small
2 garlic cloves, minced

1 bunch of fresh Italian parsley, chopped
1/4 cup chopped mint leaves (about a handful of leaves)
3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
1 tablespoon dried oregano
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
zest of one lemon
2 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons kosher salt
a few turns of fresh ground pepper

Mix well until all of the ingredients are combined. Shape about 3 tablespoons of the chicken into a balls (this is a messy process – a little water on your hands helps the chicken from sticking) and put on a baking sheet lined with foil and coated with non-stick cooking spray.