Spicy Lemon Verbena Meatballs with Minted Yogurt Dipping Sauce

By mirandavoegeli

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground pork butt
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
• 4 green onions, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons finely chopped lemon verbena
• 1 cup coarsely chopped cilantro
• 1 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh ginger
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped mint
• 1 cup plain yogurt
• Stiff branches of lemon verbena or rosemary for skewers, optional

Details

Servings 24

Preparation

Step 1

Mix together the ground pork, garlic, jalapeno, green onions, chopped lemon verbena, cilantro, ginger, and salt. Pull off about 1 1/2 tablespoons and roll into meatballs. Put on baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until ready to cook.

Pour oil into skillet set over medium-high heat. Place meatballs quite closely together in the pan. Let them stay where they are until the bottoms are deeply browned, then loosen by scraping them from the pan with a thin spatula. Flip and keep cooking and turning until most of the surfaces are browned, about 10 min. Transfer to a platter. Spear meatballs with skewers of lemon verbena or rosemary.

Stir the mint into the yogurt for a dipping sauce for the meatballs.