Can I declare that fall is officially bowl food season? Is it okay with you if we make lots of warm comforting and nourishing bowl food dinners this fall? And winter? Preferably in the form of these Greek meatball souvlaki bowls. K. Cool. These Greek meatball souvlaki bowls are the perfect comfort bowl. They're lean with loads of protein and those roasted lemon garlic potatoes are perfection.
This perfect Wednesday night dinner has taken a bit of inspo from a take out dinner that I used to eat a lot as a teenager. Greek food has always been one of my favourites and you really can't beat a souvlaki. But I added my own twist by making this with lean pork meatballs instead of the traditional diced chicken or beef .
This is a perfect meal prep dinner to get started on Sunday afternoon, or whatever day you do your meal prep. Make the meat balls and fridge them, or freeze them if your having them more than 3 days later. We want 'em fresh! But that's it. Rolling meat balls is the most time consuming part. And even then, it would only take you about 10 minutes. But maybe on a busy weeknight, that's not where you need to be spending your time.
For this particular souvlaki bowl you can just go with rice or roast potatoes, but with traditional souvlaki, it's both. And I'm not one to argue with the Greeks. They know how to eat right. So, we go with it. Another kinda fancy, but super simple thing to do is that we use the rosemary sticks as the skewers for these meatballs. It just helps to add some extra flavour to the meatballs and besides... what else are you gonna do with those woody stalks. Nuthin! That's what.
But the real absolute must do here is to roast those lemon halves with the meatballs and potatoes. When you roast the lemons they get those charred edges and go really soft and the juice seems to get sweeter. They also become so easy to juice, so they add tons of flavour to your whole bowl of souvlaki goodness.
For the Tzatziki you can use store bought or make your own. For this yogurt sauce I used Greek yogurt and then just chopped some parsley through it to keep it weeknight simple. That's all there is to it.
Nothing but simple store cupboard ingredients like rice and potatoes and yogurt brought together to create the perfect weeknight souvlaki bowl.
Greek Meatball Souvlaki Bowls
Ingredients
For the Meatballs
- 500 g 1lb ground pork. Can substitute chicken, beef or turkey
- 1 tablespoon fennel seeds
- 1 teaspoon caraway seeds
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 25 g ¼ cup bread crumbs
- salt and pepper
- 3 sprigs rosemary
For the Lemon Garlic Potatoes
- 4 potatoes cut into long wedges
- 1 lemon
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
For the rice
- 2 cups rice cooked according to the manufacturer’s directions
- 25 g ¼ cup Greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoon chopped parsley
Instructions
For the Meatballs
- Place the fennel, caraway and cumin seeds in a spice grinder or a pestle and mortar. If you don’t have one available, use ground spices or use a rolling pin to crush the seeds.
- Place the ground pork in a mixing bowl and add the spice mix and season with salt and pepper.
- Add the bread crumbs and mix together.
- Strip the rosemary of the needles ¾ of the way up the stalks.
- Chop the rosemary and add to the pork mixture.
- Roll the pork into large meatballs and thread through the rosemary stalks.
- Cook in a pan over a medium heat until they are brown and golden on the outside. Place into the oven to continue cooking until done.
For the Potatoes
- Cut the potatoes into wedges and toss with olive oil.
- Bash the garlic cloves and place on the potatoes.
- Zest the lemon over the potatoes and cut the lemon on half. Season with salt and pepper.
- Cook in the oven until the potatoes are tender and golden and cooked through.
To serve, place the rice and potatoes in a large bowl or on a platter.
- Place the meatball skewers on top and place cucumber ribbons on the side.
- Mix the yogurt with the parsley and drizzle over your platter.
Aimee says
Debs, this bowl of meatballs looks so delicious and heartwarming. So perfect for fall. We've been on a meatballs kick in my family cause my daughter loves to help make them and so she asks if we're having them for dinner almost every night! Thanks for giving me another option to add into the rotation.