Well-seasoned meatballs

Ingredients for 6 servings:

• 1 kg minced meat, mixed (alternatively pure minced beef)
• 3 eggs
• 1 stale roll
• 2 cloves garlic, preferably fresh
• 1 m.-large onion(s), finely chopped
• 2 anchovy fillets, salted (from the jar)
• 1 pepper, red
• 1 piece(s) ginger, thumb-sized
• ½ tsp spice mix (Sumac – available at Turkish stores or well-stocked supermarkets)
• 1 tbsp sweet paprika powder (alternatively tomato paste)
• some pepper, black and green mixed, ground
• 1 tsp salt
• some nutmeg, freshly grated
• 1 tsp tomato paste
• some oyster sauce to taste
• some fish sauce to taste
• ½ cup olive oil or rapeseed oil for frying
• some lettuce leaves for garnishing

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Total time approx. 30 minutes

Fried spicy meatballs

First, prepare the ingredients: Soak the bread rolls and squeeze out excess moisture. Peel and finely chop the onion. Peel the garlic and ginger and chop very finely along with the chili pepper. First chop the anchovy fillets, then crush them. Place all the ingredients in a bowl and mix, using only a little salt. Knead well and finally season with fish and oyster sauce. (Sumac gives the meatballs a slightly Arabic touch, but it’s not particularly overpowering—it can be omitted). Form golf-ball-sized balls and fry them in batches (about four batches, depending on the size of the wok) in very hot oil in a wok until the outside is nicely crispy brown, but the inside is still moist. Drain on kitchen paper and serve on lettuce leaves. They taste great both hot and cold and are a much-loved finger food for celebrations or as antipasti.