Lamb Meatballs with Yogurt Sauce

A delicious (and eggless!) snack from Kate Leahy's book Wine Style

Some of my very favorite kinds of snacking dinners come from the delicious appetizer-like small plates served at wine bars. Here in the US, we’re way behind France and, obviously, Spain in the tradition of wine bars that also serve great food, but the trend is growing rapidly, and I’m thrilled. We live just a few blocks from Snail Bar, one Oakland’s most famous options, and it has become one of my go-to spots for celebrations and for nights when I have the whole evening to myself.

The dishes offered at these spots hit exactly the kinds of snacky notes I adore: While some are more like mini versions of larger meals (like the spicy miso butter pasta served at the recently deceased Daytrip), the small plates format lets you graze, share dishes with your dining companions, and try lots of different flavors (presumably paired with lots of different wines, if you want to go that direction).

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For more quick-and-easy (and delicious!) meals, pre-order a copy of my book SNACKING DINNERS! As a bonus, you can sign up for added drink-pairing recipes, a free signed bookplate, and a chance to win a fun prize drawing. (Pre-orders are a huge boost for sales rankings and encourage indie bookstores to stock the book.)

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Given my love of wine bar dinners, it shouldn’t be surprising that some of my current favorite snacking meals come out of a wine-centric book: Wine Style by my wonderful friend Kate Leahy (who is about to launch her own newsletter). The premise of the book is that it teaches readers about a variety of different wine styles while also offering recipes for dishes that will go with them. Each chapter highlights a style of wine (rich white wines, picnic red wines, etc) and includes recipes for a variety of different dishes from appetizery snacks to main dishes to desserts. I’m sure you know which ones I’m drawn to.

This recipe, from the rosé wines chapter (which is full of great snack options, including the gorgeous dip on the book’s cover), is a perfect example of the wine bar food genre. It’s fun and snacky but substantial. The meatballs can be dipped into the herby yogurt sauce or wrapped up in a pita for a more substantial meal. (Kate even gives an option to eat them over noodles, though I didn’t include that here, as that takes the dish out of snack territory.)

When I reached out about running this recipe, Kate also noted that, because she wrote the book during California’s 2020 stay-at-home orders these meatballs don’t include eggs, as they were hard to find at the time. This is, obviously, a huge bonus now that eggs have become a scarce commodity again.

Lamb Meatballs with Yogurt Sauce

Serves 4

For the Meatballs
1 pound ground lamb
¼ cup water
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 green onions, thinly sliced, or ⅛ medium red onion, minced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ cup panko bread crumbs*
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

For the Yogurt Sauce
1 cup plain whole milk yogurt
1 cup firmly packed fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
2 garlic cloves, grate with a Microplane or finely minced
¼ teaspoon kosher salt

Flatbread, such as lavash or pita, for serving

1. To make the meatballs: Preheat the oven to 450°F. Line a half-sheet pan with parchment paper or lightly oil it.

2. In a large bowl, gently but thoroughly mix together the lamb, water, garlic, green onions, salt, paprika, oregano, cumin, and pepper. Add the bread crumbs and gently mix until incorporated. Roll into 16 small meatballs about 1½ ounces each and arrange on a prepared pan. Brush the tops with the oil.

3. Roast, rotating the pan halfway through, until the tops of the meatballs start to brown, about 15 minutes. For a deeper brown color, carefully arrange an oven rack in the top third of the oven and preheat the broiler. Broil until the meatballs caramelize, 1 to 2 minutes depending on the broiler (keep a close eye on the pan and don’t walk away while broiling).

4. To make the yogurt sauce: In a mini food processor, combine the yogurt, cilantro, mint, garlic, and salt and process until evenly blended. (Or chop the herbs very finely and stir the ingredients together in a bowl.)

5. Serve the meatballs with the yogurt sauce spooned over the top and flatbread on the side.

*Panko bread crumbs are lighter in texture than classic dried bread crumbs, yielding meatballs that aren’t as dense. If you have classic dried bread crumbs, use ⅓ cup. You can also use 1 cup fresh bread crumbs by blending day-old crusty bread in a food processor until it forms crumbs. For a gluten-free alternative, swap out the crumbs for ½ cup cooked rice and 1 lightly beaten egg to bind the meatballs together.

From the Archives

I’ve been turning to this fantastic snack a lot recently. It was one of the very first recipes I posted here, back when there were maybe 2 or 3 of you here, so I thought I should share it again, so the rest of you can enjoy it!

Photos: Erin Scott (courtesy of Ten Speed Press; 2), Georgia Freedman