Good either as marble-sized hors d'oeuvres or, when walnut sized or larger, as a main course. Try to serve these hot or at least warm, otherwise the congealing fat in the meat will make them increasing less appetizing. There are infinite varieties throughout Greece. The ones that I prefer are those that I remember Eleni making, flavoured in the spicy Levantine style of northern Greece. I have been told, but never come across proof, that keftedes were on the menus of classical Athens.
Ingredients
1 pound beef or lamb, ground several times over or kneaded or pounded in a mortar until almost a paste.
2-3 slices of bread, crusts removed
1 T vegetable or olive oil
4 T grated onion
4 T finely chopped parsley
4 T finely chopped mint (I substituted cilantro)
½ t oregano
½ t cumin
¼ t nutmeg
½ t cinnamon
⅛ t cayenne pepper
salt and pepper
½ red wine
flour for dusting
Instructions
Once the meat is ground or pounded to a paste, moisten the bread, squeeze the liquid out, and mix into the meat with all the remaining ingredients except the flour for dusting. Shape into walnut sized balls and dust with the flour.
Fry in oil in a skillet or in a deep fat fryer until brown on the outside but still moist within.
Variations on this recipe include the addition of a few pine nuts and mint in place of the parsley.
Also, the meat mixture can be shaped around skewers, fried or grilled, and served wither as brochettes or wrapped in a pita bread as a variety of gyro (pronounced "yeero").
Finally, the meatballs can be served in a tomato sauce of your choosing (usually a simple one of tomato paste, water, cinnamon or cumin, and a little lemon juice) and served as a main course with rice.
Recipe by Food Musings at http://foodmusings.ca/recipes/good-reads-the-summer-of-my-greek-taverna-a-memoir-by-tom-stone/