Flatbreads with Greek meatballs, Greek salad and tzatziki
A recipe for the ultimate Greek comfort food, - full of the flavours of southern sun and summer.
Servings 4 people
Ingredients
Greek flatbreads - makes 8
- 25 g fresh yeast
- 350 ml lukewarm water
- 550 g plain flour
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- Oil or cooking spray for frying
Tzatziki
- 1 large cucumber
- 400 g Greek yoghurt
- 2-3 cloves garlic, finely grated
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 tbsp freshly chopped mint (optional)
- Salt and pepper
Greek meatballs
- 500 g minced beef
- 50 g feta
- 1 egg
- 1 handful flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, grated or crushed
- 1/2 chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
- 2 tbsp dried breadcrumbs
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- Salt and pepper
- 100 ml plain flour (for coating the meatballs)
- 300 ml rapeseed oil for frying
To serve
- 1 portion Greek salad or another mixed salad
Instructions
Greek flatbreads
- Dissolve the yeast in the water and add the sugar and oil.
- Mix the flour and salt and stir it in a little at a time. Knead the dough, ideally in a stand mixer, until the flour is fully worked in and the dough gathers around the hook.
- Cover the bowl with cling film and a tea towel and leave the dough to rise in a warm place for a good hour.
- Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces, about 110 g each, and roll them into balls – that makes them easy to roll out into circles.
- Roll each ball out into a large circle that fits your frying pan, about 2-3 mm thick, – dust with a little flour if needed.
- Heat a frying pan over medium heat and spray it with a little cooking spray, or brush it with a little oil.
- Cook the breads for a couple of minutes on each side over medium heat, until they puff up in bubbles and are lightly golden. Use a little cooking spray each time you turn a bread and start a new one, – it gives a soft, moist flatbread.
- Stack them on top of each other as they are done and cover them with foil, – that keeps the breads soft and pliable.
Tzatziki
- Coarsely grate the cucumber and squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Put the cucumber in a sieve, season with a little salt, roughly the amount you would add to the dressing, and toss it with your hands. Leave the cucumber to drain for about 15 min., squeezing out more liquid a few times along the way.
- Meanwhile, mix the ingredients for the dressing, - stir the yoghurt together with the garlic, olive oil, lemon juice and mint. Then fold in the cucumber and season the dressing with a little white pepper and more salt if it needs it. Keep it in the fridge until serving, - ideally let it stand for a few hours.
Greek meatballs
- Mix the beef with the chopped onion, garlic, chilli and parsley, the egg, the spices and the crumbled feta.
- Add the breadcrumbs and season with salt and pepper, - leave the mixture to rest for 15 min.
- Shape the mixture into smallish round meatballs, - I made mine about 35 grams each, - and roll them in the plain flour. Make sure there is only a thin, even dusting of flour on the meatballs, - it should not sit in clumps.
- Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat, - there should be about 1 cm of oil in the pan.
- Fry the meatballs until golden all over, - and cooked as you like them (well done or pink in the middle).
- Serve the Greek flatbreads topped with plenty of tzatziki, meatballs and crisp salad.