Keftedes In Lemon Sauce

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4 from 6 votes

The softest and juiciest Greek meatballs in lemon sauce with butter. Flavored with garlic and dried oregano.

Prep Time15

Cook Time30

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Greek

Keyword: diner

Servings: meatballs

Calories: 142kcal

Ingredients

For The Meatballs:

olive oil
200 grams (7 ounce) ground pork
400 grams (14 ounce) lean ground beef
1 large egg
100 grams (3.5 ounces) crustless bread
125 ml (½ cup) white wine
100 grams (½ cup) onion minced
4 garlic cloves minced
½ teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano + extra to serve with
2 teaspoon dried parsley or fresh minced
1 teaspoon fine sea salt + extra for the sauce
½ teaspoon ground pepper + extra for the sauce

For The Sauce:

4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups (500 ml) hot water or stock vegetable, beef, or chicken stock
8-10 tablespoons lemon juice

Instructions

Prepare The Meatballs:

Soak bread in white wine. Tear it into smaller pieces and then let it soak for a couple of minutes.
Add both types of meat to a mixing bowl along with the egg, parsley, oregano, cumin, onion, garlic, salt, and pepper.
Add the soaked bread crumbling it as much as possible.
Knead meatball mixture until uniform.
Shape into 15 oval-shaped meatballs and place on a large plate. About 65-70 grams each.
Refrigerate for about an hour to become firm and hold their shape.
Heat a generous splash of olive oil in a large skillet or non-stick frying pan.
Sear the meatballs on both sides to get some color. Don't flip or disturb them before the first 4 minutes of cooking have passed. Then turn them using two forks.
Transfer meatballs to paper towels to drain excess oil and start preparing the sauce.

Make the sauce:

In a saute pan melt butter over moderate heat.
Add the flour and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring with a wooden spatula until sandy in color and smells like toasted flour.
Pour in the hot water or stock and the lemon juice. Stir well.
See notes below.
Add the meatballs and put the lid on.
Simmer for about 20 minutes turning them once and scraping the pan so they won't stick at the bottom. Taste the sauce for any additional seasoning.
Serve warm with plenty of freshly ground pepper and some dried oregano on top.

Notes

Don't add all the lemon juice in at once. It's better to taste and adjust the amount to your liking. Greeks eat our dishes very lemony so begin with 6-8 tablespoons and add more after tasting the sauce first.

Nutrition