Bifteki

Today’s #MeatballMonday is brought to you by a series of misadventures that resulted in me having leftover parsley, extra organic* lemons, and a giant tub of feta all in my kitchen at the same time. There was only one solution–so obvious, you’re probably shaking your head in annoyance–Bifteki. Tell us something we don’t already know, Radish.

*I am usually agnostic about “organic” but I was making a Sunday cake with lemon zest and my MIL has a strong preference. You can buy unsprayed lemons from at least four different European countries at the Wochenmarkt. These were from Spain.

I have ordered Bifteki at all three Greek restaurants in Freising; two of them serve it as a plate-sized patty of ground meat filled with cheese, and one serves it in smaller patties, both with and without cheese. I have forgotten who makes it which way; the last few times we’ve been out for Greek I have ordered the Gyros (by number, because I have no idea how to pronounce that word in any language).

At home, in my grimoire, I have a German recipe that may or may not be “authentic”–the source is lost.

Zwiebelflocken–dried minced onion–was something I have obviously purchased in the past, but my dealer only had onion powder. After checking in at three supermarkets, finally found some at the all-organic grocery. This brand mixes red and white onions, and quickly became my new Favorite Thing. Might even drop it in the next batch of Obazda.

The other magic ingredient in these balls is cinnamon. This is a bit of risk in Germany, because the spice is so strongly associated with Christmas. Completely normal seasonal usage–pumpkin muffins or blueberry buckle–may be dismissed with a sneered “Is it Christmas already?” Of all the many annoying aspects of life here, this may be the stupidest.

But I make meatballs for myself, and anyone who complains about the food served in my kitchen is free to make some plain buttered toast. 😉

Other than the seasonings, this is a very basic recipe with egg and panko crumbs; the additional liquid is lemon juice. The highlight is a small chunk of feta cheese carefully nestled into the center of each meatball.

My only gripe with this recipe is that 500g of ground meat only makes eight meatballs, and somebody ate four so there weren’t enough leftovers.

I zested two lemons, and they provided enough juice to make a “Greek” lemon rice, another handwritten recipe of dubious origin in my collection, and Tzatziki. It tastes good, that’s what matters here!