Recipe puts Greek spin on meatballs

The ingredient list is long, but don’t panic: Most are seasonings. This recipe is for meatballs with a Greek accent, and we recently enjoyed the variation at our house.

The original recipe called for a spicy tomato sauce to serve on these meatballs, one you can toss together with a large can of plum tomatoes and the usual suspects – onions, garlic – plus red pepper flakes. You might prefer to use your favorite tomato sauce either from scratch or from a jar for speed.

Seriously consider increasing the seasonings in the meatballs. We thought the original recipe was a little wimpy, so I increased them for you. Still, you might want to pinch off a little of the seasoned meat, cook and sample it, and add more seasoning if you think it is needed.

Following the serving suggestions that came with the recipe, we ate it with mashed potatoes (actually garlic mashed potatoes). We liked it. If meatballs with tomato sauce and mashed potatoes seem too weird for you, well, serve pasta or couscous. No big deal.

Greek Meatballs

Makes 4 servings

1 pound ground beef (or half beef, half turkey)

1 small onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic minced

3 teaspoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons paprika

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Salt and pepper

1 egg, beaten

1/2 cup of fine breadcrumbs

Splash of red wine

Flour

Oil for frying

Mix together the meat, onion and seasonings, then mix the egg and crumbs in, adding a little wine or water if needed to keep the mixture firm enough to roll. Form the meatballs, dredge them in flour, then fry them in the cooking oil until they are browned on all sides.

Lay them in a baking dish in a single layer. Top with your favorite tomato sauce and bake them for about a half-hour in a 350-degree F oven.