The recipe I’m sharing this week is from Danielle Walker’s book Against all Grains & is for Greek Gyro Pasta with Lamb Meatballs. It’s a paleo recipe, but feel free to serve this with pitas or naan bread if you aren’t reducing grains or gluten free.
If you haven’t tried zoodles yet (zucchini that’s been spiralized to resemble pasta noodles) you are missing out. While I don’t consider them a replacement (I love pasta way too much to honestly say that it’s the same), they are a fun way to get your family to eat more veggies. This salad is absolutely delicious and I’ve actually make it as a side for other meals because we enjoy it so much.
When we lived in MA we were part of a local meat share program that was amazing. It was the first time I had tried cooking lamb and we were all hooked. That’s one of the great things about joining a CSA/share type of program – you get to try things that you wouldn’t normally choose otherwise. You can often find ground lamb at Trader Joe’s or your local grocery store, but if you can’t find it just substitute ground beef, pork or chicken as any would work fine here.
I’ve made a couple of minor adaptions, but the recipe is pretty much as is from her book. I know it’s a long recipe, but it comes together fairly quickly and we all enjoy it.
Meatballs:
1 ½ lbs. Ground lamb
1 ½ Tbs. fresh lemon juice
1 ½ Tbs. E.V.O.O.
3 cloves garlic, minced
¾ tsp. Dried or 1 ½ tsp. Fresh rosemary, chopped
¾ tsp. Dried or 1 ½ tsp. Fresh oregano
½ tsp. Salt
¼ tsp. Cracked black pepper
Place all meatball ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Let marinate at room temp. For 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the Tzatziki sauce (you can halve the recipe or plan using leftovers as a good dip for veggies or a salad dressing).
Tzatziki Sauce:
¾ c. Coconut Milk Yogurt (can use plain greek if not dairy sensitive)
1 small cucumber, peeled, seeded & finely chopped
1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. Chopped fresh dill or ½ tsp. Dried
1 tsp. Chopped fresh mint (I haven’t had luck with dried mint, but if you try just halve the amount)
1 clove garlic, minced
½ tsp. Balsamic vinegar
¼ tsp. Salt
Place all sauce ingredients in a bowl & whisk to combine. Cover & refrigerate while meatballs are cooking.
Preheat oven to 375.
Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil, lightly spray with oil. Form the meat into 2-inch meatballs and place on baking sheet. I like to use my large cookie scoop (the same one I use for filling my muffin tray) for this.
Bake 20-25 minutes until no longer pink in the center.
While baking, make the zoodles (I use this one). I don’t bother to peel the zucchini, just wash then spiralize it – You can also use a julienne peeler or cut the zucchini into bite size pieces if you don’t want to mess with any of that.
“Pasta”
4 large zucchini (start with 2-3 if you’re not sure how your family will like it)
1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
1 Tbs. E.V.O.O.
1 ½ tsp. Fresh or ¾ tsp. Dried oregano
¼ tsp. Salt (add more to taste if needed)
1 c. cherry tomatoes, halved
½ red onion, thinly sliced.
Place zucchini in a bowl and toss with the next 4 ingredients. Let the noodles marinate while the meatballs cook.
When meatballs are done let them sit for 5 minutes. Mix tomatoes & onion into pasta (I’ve also omitted them and the zucchini by itself is delicious). Serve meatballs atop the zucchini pasta with a dollop of tzatziki sauce.
I hope you enjoy this fun take on gyro’s. I like to mix up our meatballs every once in awhile and this one was very well received 🙂 Comment below with any questions & be sure to let me know what other types of recipes you would like me to share!
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