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Middle Eastern Meatballs on Mini-Pita Crisps | Taste and Tipple

Middle Eastern Meatballs on Mini-Pita Crisps

Course Appetizer
Cuisine Middle Eastern
Keyword Meatballs, MIddle Eastern Meatballs
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 26 minutes
Resting Time 4 hours
Total Time 4 hours 56 minutes
Servings 24 meatballs

Ingredients

PITA CRISPS

  • 12 mini pitas
  • ¼ cup butter, melted

RED ONION POMEGRANATE SLAW

  • 1 small red onion halved and thinly sliced
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • ¼ cup pomegranate arils
  • 2 tbsp finely chopped parsley

TAHINI SAUCE

  • ¼ cup tahini sauce
  • ¼ cup warm water
  • 3 tbsp lemon juice
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • ¼ tsp cayenne
  • Pinch salt

MEATBALLS

  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 1 small onion grated
  • ¼ cup chopped toasted pine nuts
  • ¼ cup currants
  • 1 tbsp thick yogurt
  • 1½ tsp ground allspice
  • ½ tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1¼ tsp salt
  • ¼ cup vegetable or olive, oil

Instructions

PITA CRISPS

  1. To make pita crisps, preheat oven to 350°F.
  2. Using a sharp paring knife, carefully split pitas into 2 rounds to make 24 rounds total. Brush both sides with butter and arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet. Cook for 10–minutes, or until golden and crisp. Set aside until ready to serve (crisps may be made ahead and kept tightly covered for up to a week).

RED ONION POMEGRANATE SLAW

  1. For the red onion pomegranate slaw, toss onions with salt and lemon juice in a small bowl; cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. Just before serving, drain liquid from onions and toss with pomegranate arils and parsley.

TAHINI SAUCE

  1. For tahini sauce, combine tahini, ¼ cup warm water, lemon juice, garlic, cayenne and salt in a the small bowl of a food processor; purée. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve (sauce may be made up to a week in advance).

MEATBALLS

  1. To prepare meatballs, combine all but the oil in a large mixing bowl. Using your hands, mix to evenly distribute ingredients throughout. Working with a scant 2 tbsp meat mixture at a time, roll into balls approximately 1 inch (2.5 cm) in diameter. Flatten each slightly between palms.

  2. Preheat oven to 375°F.

  3. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Brown in batches, about 2 minutes per side; refresh oil when necessary. Arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet (meatballs may be made to this point several hours in advance, covered and refrigerated until ready to bake). Bake for 8-12 minutes (add 2 minutes to cooking time if refrigerated in advance) or until just cooked through.

  4. To serve, spoon a small amount of tahini sauce in each pita crisp. Top each with 1 tbsp slaw and a meatball. Garnish with additional parsley leaves if you wish.

Recipe Notes

Recipe from: St. Onge, Christopher. Mini-Pita Crips With Beef Meatballs & Red Onion Pomegranate Slaw. Food & Drink. Holiday 2013.