Youvarlakia (Meat Balls with Lemon Sauce)

Youvarlakia (Meat Balls with Lemon Sauce)

    I recently made Beef in Wine Gravy (delicious) from the same cookbook this recipe is from. That cookbook is Hellenic Cuisine copyrighted in 1957 by St. Helen's Philoptochos Society and Sts Constantine and Helen Parent-Teacher Association. I wasn't sure about the texture of the sauce, because it came out pretty foamy (not sure if it was supposed to be so foamy), but it tasted good. I had to buy mint, but the parsley I used was from my garden.  Yay!

Ingredients:

2lbs ground beef or veal (I used ground turkey)

2 small onions, chopped finely (I used one large)

3 tbsps chopped parsley and mint leaves (This is for sprinkling over the dish when serving, so you can actually use more)

1/2 cup rice, cooked

2 tbsps butter or oil

1 tsp vegetable salt (I used a salt free table seasoning)

2 cups water

1/2 cup flour

salt and pepper, to taste

plus

2 eggs 

1 lemon, juiced

Directions:

in a large bowl, thoroughly mix the meat, onion, salt, pepper, rice and vegetable salt. Form into small meatballs (I laid out my meatballs in a 9x13 pan and it was completely filled when I was done making the balls). Sprinkle with flour. Bring a saucepan with water and a little salt, to boil. Add meat balls and butter or oil and simmer for 40 minutes.  When you have about ten minutes of cooking time left, make your sauce by separating eggs and beating the whites until they form soft peaks. Beat yolks with lemon juice and fold into the egg whites. Remove the pan from heat and drain any leftover water. Pour the sauce on top and stir to coat meat balls. Sprinkle with chopped mint and parsley. Serve over rice or even noodles if you'd like that better.  Serving size depends on how many meatballs each person gets.  

Youvarlakia (Meat Balls with Lemon Sauce