Greek meatballs with mint and feta

General

• I do it slightly differently. I brown the meatballs in a non-stick pan first, on quite high heat, and all sides. I find that works better than sauteing in the instant pot.
• If you are in a terrible hurry: don't slow cook, but use high-pressure for about 10 minutes. Not as nice, but works.
• if you are not in a hurry, take the time to cool the meatballs.
• Also, I have a slightly different order. I use the hakmolen (not the blitzer) and combine the roughly cut-up herbs with old cubed bread or breadcrumbs with the onion with the egg and salt and peper, sometimes with extra herbs. I mash this until there is a more or less smooth mash, then combine with the meat. Is much quicker and save cutting up.
• If the meatballs are not properly compressed, they will fall apart
• I brown in butter, because butter browns better than oil. I use two spoons to carefully turn them over. If the meatballs are not properly compressed, they will fall apart

Logistics

Total time: 5 hours 20 minutes
Active time: 20 minutes
Yield: Serves 6

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground lamb
• ¾ cup plain bread crumbs
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• ½ small white or yellow onion, finely chopped
• ½ cup (about 2 ounces) crumbled feta cheese
• ¼ cup finely chopped fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley leaves (or use frozen)
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint leaves (or use frozen)
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon neutral-flavored vegetable oil, such as canola or peanut
• 700 gram/ml favorite homemade tomato sauce
• ½ cup water
• Freshly grated zest of 1 lemon
• Chopped, pitted black olives, for garnish

Procedure

1. Line a large plate with waxed paper or parchment paper, or dust it with a bit of flour.
2. Place the ground lamb, bread crumbs, garlic, onion, feta, parsley, mint, 1 teaspoon of the oregano, pepper, and egg yolk in a medium bowl and mix with your hands until well combined. Use your hands to pat and gently roll the meat into 12 equal-size balls, setting them on the prepared plate.
3. Press Sauté and select the highest temperature. Place the vegetable oil in the inner pot. Wait until the display reads “Hot,” about 5 minutes, then add the meatballs. Cook with the lid off until the meatballs are browned on one side, about 2 minutes.
4. Add the marinara sauce, water, lemon zest, and remaining teaspoon of oregano and stir very gently to distribute the meatballs evenly.
5. Close and lock the lid. Set the valve to Venting. Attach the condensation collector. Press Cancel, then press Slow Cook and select the lowest temperature. Set the time to 5 hours.
6. When the cooking time is finished, press Cancel and remove the lid. Place the meatballs and sauce on a serving platter and garnish with chopped olives. Serve hot.