Ground Beef Gyro Meatball Lettuce Wraps with Tzatziki and Tomatoes

By kayjayjohnson

Ingredients

• 1 lb. extra lean ground beef (I used beef with 7% fat)
• 1/2 onion, finely chopped in food processor
• 1 T Greek seasoning (I used The Spice House Greektown Billygoat Seasoning, see note after recipe.)
• 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• olive oil, for brushing grill pan
• 1 large head iceberg lettuce
• Tzatziki sauce, about 3/4 cup (I love homemade Tzatziki, but you can use purchased Tzatziki as well.)
• 3/4 cup chopped cherry tomatoes

Details

Adapted from kalynskitchen.com

Preparation

Step 1

Coarsely chop the onion; then put it in the food processor and pulse until onion is finely chopped. Add the Greek seasoning, cumin, and garlic powder and pulse a few more times until the seasonings are well blended with the onion. (You can also do this by hand, but it’s easier in the food processor.)

Put the ground beef into a bowl, add the onion-spice mixture, and use your clean hands to mix the spices into the meat. Then use a tablespoon-sized measuring spoon to scoop out the meat and form into meatballs. (I got 20 meatballs.)

Brush a stove-top grill pan or frying pan with olive oil, then heat the pan over medium high heat and cook the meatballs, turning often, until they are well browned and completely cooked through (about 10-12 minutes.)

Cut out the core of the lettuce and cut the lettuce head into two halves, then break the leaves apart, making each lettuce cup out of two leaves. Put three meatballs into each lettuce cup, top with Tzatziki sauce, and sprinkle over chopped tomatoes.

The Gyro meatballs were great after they had been in the fridge overnight. I wouldn’t recommend microwaving them; I just heated them in a mini-frying pan on the stove.

Greek Seasoning Note: The Spice House Greektown Billygoat Seasoning contains“coarse flake salt, granulated garlic powder, Tellicherry black pepper, onion powder, Greek fancy oregano and powdered lemon peel.”I particularly love this blend, but I think most brands of Greek seasoning have similar ingredients.