Turkish meatballs with a cucumber-yogurt dipping sauce
1
Points®
Total time: 52 min • Prep: 20 min • Cook: 32 min • Serves: 12 • Difficulty: Easy
Lean ground beef is combined with fiber-rich bulgur and fragrant spices in this easy appetizer—it's absolutely perfect to serve for a New Year's bash. The meatballs also feature scallions, cilantro, garlic, cumin, paprika, and cinnamon, as well as a simple dipping sauce. This recipe can easily be doubled or tripled for larger gatherings. The best part is you can form the meatballs up to 6 hours before cooking and keep them refrigerated until you're ready to go. The dipping sauce can be made up to 6 hours ahead, too, but be sure to stir in the cucumber and radish just before serving.
Ingredients
Uncooked bulgur
½ cup(s)
Cooking spray
1 spray(s)
Uncooked 93% lean ground beef
½ pound(s)
Scallions
¼ cup(s), chopped or sliced, sliced
Cilantro
3 Tbsp, fresh, chopped, divided
Jarred minced garlic
1¼ tsp, divided
Ground cumin
1¼ tsp
Table salt
¾ tsp, divided
Paprika
½ tsp
Ground cinnamon
¼ tsp
Plain fat free yogurt
1 cup(s)
Cucumber
¼ cup(s), finely diced
Radishes
2 Tbsp, sliced, finely diced
Dill
1 Tbsp, fresh, chopped
Instructions
1
Cook or soak bulgur according to package directions; drain any excess water and let cool.
2
Place oven rack in center of oven and preheat oven to 425ºF. Coat baking pan with cooking spray.
3
Put beef, scallions, 2 tablespoons of cilantro, 1 teaspoon each of garlic and cumin, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, paprika, cinnamon and drained bulgur in a large bowl; combine ingredients with your hands until well-mixed.
4
Roll meatball mixture into twenty-four 1 1/4-inch balls; place on prepared pan. Bake until lightly browned and cooked through, about 10 to 12 minutes.
5
Meanwhile, to make dipping sauce, in a small bowl, combine yogurt, cucumber, radish, dill, remaining tablespoon of cilantro, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon each of garlic, cumin and salt; mix well.
6
To serve, place meatballs on a serving platter with toothpicks and spoon sauce into a small bowl. Yields 2 meatballs and about 1 1/2 tablespoons of sauce per serving.
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