Traditionally served with “avgolemono” or egg-lemon sauce, our family’s Greek meatball recipe is slightly lighter, forgoing the egg and served instead in a clear lemony broth. Introduced to this version by my mother-in-law several years ago, it remains my favorite due to the broth, which reminds me of the beloved chicken noodle soup of my childhood.
The ingredients are the same as those used to prepare stuffed grape and cabbage leaves. This lead my mother-in-law to lovingly refer to the dish as “orphan soup”, when first asked about it. Inquiring why it was named as such, she smiled and simply replied that the meatball stuffing was left without a home, unlike those wrapped snuggly in grape and cabbage leaves. Even now I get warm and fuzzy when dropping each little ball into the boiling water, imagining that I’m giving it a home of its own in this comforting soup.
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1/2 cup medium grain rice
- 1 small red onion
- 2 lemons
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons dried dill
- 1 cup water (to make the meatballs)
- 6-8 cups water for the broth
- 1 tablespoon fresh chopped dill
Preparation
- In a medium size pot, bring 6-8 cups of water to a boil (you’ll want enough water to cover all of the meatballs)
- Peel and grate the onion using a grater or food processor
- In a large bowl, mix together the ground beef, rice, grated onion, olive oil, salt, dried dill, and cup of water
- Once the water in the pot reaches a boil, using spoons or your hands, shape the rice and beef mixture into small balls about the size of a golf ball
- Once formed, drop the uncooked meatball into the boiling water, repeating the process until all of the beef and rice mixture has been formed into balls and added to the pot
- Reduce to a simmer and cook for 40 minutes until the meatballs are fully cooked
- Add the juice of two squeezed lemons to the broth
- Sprinkle with some chopped fresh dill and serve with a few slices of lemon on the side for those that wish to add more lemony flavor to the soup
