Written by Chris Sunday, 04 October 2009 00:00

Keftethes are a Greek form of meatballs which probably originated from the Ottomon or Middle-Eastern kofta. The term originated from Persia and means ground or beaten refering to the meat or vegetable ingredients in the meatballs. They are usually rolled in balls or cigar shapes and egg and breadcrumb mix is used to bind the mixture together.

Here is a recipe that's more in line with the Greek or Cypriot version and which may form part of a delicious meze meal.

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 500g ground pork meat (mincemeat)
• 1 large onion (finely chopped)
• 100g fresh parsley (finely chopped)
• 1 cup of breadcrumbs
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp cinammon or all-spice.
• 1tbsp salt and freshly milled pepper to taste
• Corn/Vegetable or olive oil for frying.

Preparation

Place all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix thoroughly.

Once ready to cook add about an inch of corn oil to a hard-base frying pan and heat up. Take small amounts of the mincemeat mix and form small balls of about 1 1/2 inches diameter and add to the frying pan. Do this in batches of 4 or 5 balls at a time. Fry them for a few minutes on one side and roll the balls over and fry the other side. Remove when browned all over and add to kitchen paper covered bowl to soak up the excess oil.

Serve as part of a meze or for a quick snack.