Baked Scallion – Parsley Meatballs with Avgolemono Sauce

The tart egg and lemon sauce complements beautifully these sweet, light, and simple baked meatballs.

Serve with rice or bulgur pilaf. 

You can also serve the meatballs and the sauce over tagliatelle or spaghetti, simply tossed with fruity olive oil after cooking the pasta al dente.  

 

Instead of serving the sauce on the side, meatballs are sometimes cooked in a chicken or meat  avgolemono soup. On this occasion some rice may be added to the meatball mixture,  and they are called giouvarlakia.  

 

 

Serves 4-6

 

1 pound lean ground beef

 

2 cups finely chopped scallions (white and most of the green part)

 

1 cup chopped parsley

 

1/2 cup dried breadcrumbs

 

2 tablespoons olive oil, and more to brush the meatballs

 

2 medium eggs, lightly beaten

 

1-2 teaspoons Aleppo, or a good pinch red pepper flakes, to taste

 

Salt to taste

 

Avgolemono sauce (recipe follows)

 

 

In a bowl mix together the ground meat with the scallions, parsley, breadcrumbs, olive oil and eggs. Season with red pepper and salt. Work the mixture well with your hands, cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes, and up to 4 hours.

 

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

 

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and brush with olive oil.

Roll about 1/4 cups of the ground beef mixture with wet  hands to make the meatballs. Brush them with olive oil and bake for about 30 minutes, until deep golden and firm.

 

Let cool a little and transfer to a serving platter. Pour some avgolemono sauce over the meatballs, if you like, and serve the rest on the side.

 

Egg and Lemon sauce (avgolemono)

2 1/2 cups chicken or beef broth

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon corn starch

5 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, or more to taste

Salt and freshly ground black

Bring the broth to a very slow boil.

 

In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs and 2 tablespoons water.

Dilute the corn starch in the lemon juice and add it to the egg mixture. Whisking constantly, very slowly pour about half the boiling broth into the eggs.

Slowly pour the egg mixture back to the saucepan with the broth, whisking constantly, to prevent the eggs from curdling. As the sauce thickens, taste and adjust the seasonings with lemon juice, salt and pepper.