I grew up in L.A. around one of its many Greek communities and would feast on Greek meatballs (also known as Keftedes) and stuffed grape leaves (dolmades) at a friend’s house. His parents always knew me as the big American friend who would eat an entire plate of them and still come back for more.
Many years later and 13 years post celiac diagnosis, I still love my meatballs (stuffed grape leaves not so much). While they’re relatively easy to make, I sometimes get lazy and like to buy them pre-made at a local deli. The problem is always trying to find them without bread crumbs — that’s not so easy. When I lived in Portland, there was a fantastic store called New Season’s Market that always made their meatballs gluten-free and sometimes even had a Greek meatball. Those were the days. Back in L.A. now and I’m not so lucky, I’m not very close to a Whole Foods and my local mega-groceries have a pretty miserable selection of what should be called “food like products”.
All of this being said, I’ve been back to making my own and not succumbing to the laziness any longer. Meatballs can take on so many flavors and there are so many subtleties that every batch is different. I always look forward to the results. Best of all, meatballs really are pretty good for you. Focus on high quality grass-fed meat and fresh ingredients and you’ll have a hit every time.
Here’s a GREAT option from Sarah Fragoso of Everyday Paleo that has quite an impressive list of ingredients — everything from chives to garlic to mint to cinnamon and then some. This is far different than anything I’ve tried before and I can honestly say that it’s next on my meatball to-do list.
