Projo Football Food and Spirits

Allspice and cinnamon add just a hint of something exotic to these seasoned meatballs. Tahini, a paste made from ground sesame seeds, is available in most grocery stores.

2 1/2 pounds ground lamb or ground sirloin beef
2 large bunches fresh parsley, finely chopped
1/2 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
1/4 cup tahini
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons plain yogurt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, mix ground meat, parsley, onion, cinnamon, allspice, salt and pepper with your hands. Form into 20 elliptical shapes, like footballs.

If you have a stovetop grill, skewer the meatballs end to end on wooden skewers and grill until brown. Alternately, before skewering, brown the meatballs in a large saute pan over medium-high heat, and then skewer.

Transfer the skewered meatballs to a baking pan. Bake in oven until just cooked through, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Serve with tahini sauce: In a small bowl, combine the tahini, lemon juice and yogurt.

You may dip them, or pass pita bread, shredded lettuce and diced tomato for guests to roll their own, using the tahini sauce as a dressing

Source: Rafeedie's Catering & Events in Atlanta.

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