Yesterday was the first day of fall which means it’s officially time to share my final summer recipe!
I’ve been sitting on this one for a while. It’s freakin’ good, don’t get me wrong, but every time I’ve sat down to write lately I’ve just ended up watching an episode of Jane the Virgin. Call it writers block? Or maybe I’m just burnt out from writing essay after essay of how I’d be a good candidate for vet school.
Anyway, this summer I craved mediterranean food a lot. I found myself stopping by my local CAVA pretty often for lunch breaks. If you don’t know, CAVA is basically the mediterranean sweetgreen/chipotle. They do a pretty bang up job and their spicy lamb meatballs are totally worth the $1.50 extra. But after I noticed my tenth CAVA charge on my card this summer, I figured it was time to figure out how to recreate my order at home.
And then I saw this recipe on Bon Appétit. Those guys always save the day!
So here’s the breakdown of this dish: You take a warm flatbread, spread some herby tzatziki on top, add fresh marinated vegetables, and top with lamb meatballs. It’s a great lunch and even better option for an al fresco dinner. You know, for those of us who are still getting summer weather.
Summer Greek Pitas w/ Lamb Meatballs & Marinated Vegetables
for the lamb meatballs
ingredients:
directions:
preheat the oven to 425.
combine the egg, panko crumbs, cumin, red pepper flakes, turmeric, parsley, olive oil, salt, and garlic into a large bowl. add the lamb and mix everything together.
gently roll the lamb mixture into small balls. then place them on a rimmed baking sheet. bake the meatballs for 9 minutes.
for the tzatziki sauce
ingredients:
directions:
toss cucumber slices with salt and let rest in a bowl for ~5 minutes. drain the excess liquid.
mix cucumbers, yogurt, oil, lemon juice, and garlic in a fresh bowl. let this mixture sit at room temp for 15 minutes, then discard the crushed garlic piece. stir in mint.
for the vegetables
ingredients:
4 tbsp olive oil
directions:
combine cucumber, tomatoes, onion, and herbs in a bowl.
in a separate bowl, whisk the olive oil, red wine vinegar, and dijon mustard together. pour the dressing on top of the vegetables and toss to combine. let this sit for about 30 minutes.
to assemble, toast the flatbread. spread a heaping spoonful of tzatziki sauce on the bread. add the vegetables, then a few meatballs. enjoy immediately!