Meatball pittas
- Prepare
- less than 30 mins
- Cook
- 10 to 30 mins
- Serve
- Serves 4
- Dietary
- Dairy-freeEgg-freeNut-free
These easy loaded beef meatball pittas are the perfect weeknight meal.
Ingredients
For the meatballs
- 500g/1lb 2oz beef mince (20% fat)
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp chilli powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp cinnamon
To serve
- 4 white pittas
- 1 red onion, roughly chopped
- 2 tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 20g/½oz salad cress
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- sauce of choice, such as sweet chilli or garlic mayo
Method
To make the meatballs, combine the mince, white onion, garlic, dried spices and herbs in a large bowl and season with salt and pepper.
Blend half a pitta in a food processor and add the breadcrumbs to the bowl of mince.
Mix with your hands and squeeze everything together until it is well combined.
Take spoonfuls of the mixture and roll them into meatballs about the size of golf balls.
Put a large dry frying pan over a low heat (the fat in the meat means you don't need any oil) and add the meatballs. Turn them carefully once every minute, until completely cooked through, this will take 8–10 minutes. Baste them frequently with the pan juices to keep them moist.
Meanwhile, put the red onion, tomato and cress in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper and mix.
If you like your pittas warm, put them in the microwave for about 30 seconds. Then load up the pittas with the tomato and onion salad, meatballs and your chosen sauce.
Recipe tips
If the meat sticks to your hands when rolling the meatballs, run your hands under some cold water.
