If you don't love lamb meatballs, I just don't know if I trust you anymore.

It's like people who don't like ice cream. I don't care how lactose-intolerant you are, ice cream is fucking good. And so are these Greek lamb meatballs.

My parents used to make a similar dish occasionally when I was growing up, and I remember thinking they were the best thing I'd ever eaten as an 11-year-old. One time during a party — after I'd stolen away to our basement alone with, like, twenty meatballs on my plate — I almost choked on one, because they were so good I forgot how to chew.

Anyhow, I survived. remember to chew the meatballs.

This lamb recipe (served with the Cucumber Tomato Salad, especially) is one of my go-to recipes for the summer, because it's just so fresh and easy enough to memorize.

One more note before the recipe fun: the stuff that sort of looks like a heap of coconut oil in the first picture is toum, an outrageously good emulsified Lebanese garlic sauce that I bought at a restaurant in San Diego.

It's a little labor intensive to make at home (though I have a recipe for it here!), so I usually buy it from restaurants. In Minneapolis, you can get it from Grlk or Filfilah. 

P.S. I actually made these particular meatballs in the photos while we were on a trip to Joshua Tree (Everyone makes meatballs while on vacation, no?).

GREEK LAMB MEATBALLS

gluten-free recipe (paleo, whole30-approved with omissions) | makes 24 meatballs

INGREDIENTS

• 1 lb. ground lamb
• 1 shallot, minced
• 2-3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh mint, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp salt

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F.
2. Mix all the ingredients in a big bowl. Form 1.5-inch meatballs and set them on a lined baking sheet.
3. Bake about 15 minutes or until cooked through.

NOTES

• Don't worry too much about the measurements of the herbs. I usually just grab a bunch of mint and a bunch of parsley and wing it.
• If you are doubling or tripling the batch for a big party and have to do them in phases, you can keep them warm in a crockpot.
• If you leave out the feta, these would be paleo and Whole30-friendly, but you might want to add a pinch more salt since the feta adds flavor. 
• You can fry these on the stovetop if you don't want to turn on the oven. Here are some pointers, if you're skipping the oven: 
  • Don't overcrowd the pan.
  • The meatballs might spit at you, so don't wear your nicest outfit.