I have a new found love in my life. It’s a tray bake. How can you whack a few items on a tray, bung it in the oven and completely knock it out of the park on the flavour scale? Admittedly, there is a little yoghurt dressing for this one and you do need to blanch a few beans in some boiling water and there are some stonking Greek lamb meatballs to put together but the bulk of this dish is one tray my friends and it is so worth the effort. It was gobsmackingly good, a beautiful marriage of classic Greek flavours and your family & friends will absolutely adore you for putting this on the table.
Prep time: 20 Minutes Cooking time: 35 Minutes $$ Medium Budget
Serves 4
For the Meatballs:
500gm of lamb mince
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
6 sprigs of fresh oregano, leaves removed and stalks discarded, finely chopped
6 sprigs of thyme, leaves removed and stalks discarded, finely chopped
1 tsp of dried oregano
100gm of feta cheese
1 tsp of chilli flakes
1 heaped tbs of tomato paste
1 heaped tbs of mint jelly
1 egg
2/3 cup of panko crumbs
Sea salt and pepper
For the Vegetables & Yoghurt:
1 Yellow capsicum, cut into 3cm chunks
2 zucchini, halved lengthways and then halved crossways
2 baby eggplant, halved lengthways and then halved crossways
2 very ripe roma tomatoes, halved
1 red onion, peeled with roots left intact and sliced into wedges
Grated rind of 1 lemon
Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling
Sea salt and pepper for seasoning
1 tsp of dried oregano
1 tsp of chilli flakes
200gm of green beans, topped
1 cup of greek yoghurt
1 small garlic clove, grated
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 tbs of chopped fresh dill
A few dill fronds for garnish
Pre heat the oven to 180°C.
Place all of the ingredients for the meatballs in a large bowl and mix well to combine. Use damp hands to shape the meatballs into good size ones (a bit larger than a golf ball but not as big as a tennis ball) and then place them on a large oven tray (I use the bottom of the grill tray that came with my oven), lined with baking paper. Make sure you dot them around the tray in a haphazard fashion and then scatter the capsicum pieces, zucchini, eggplant, red onion and tomatoes around the tray. Drizzle with good extra virgin olive oil and then grate the lemon rind over the top and season with salt, pepper, chilli flakes and oregano. Place the tray in the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes until the meatballs are golden and the veggies are well and truly cooked.
Place the yoghurt, grated garlic, lemon and dill in a small bowl, season with a little salt and pepper and stir to combine.
Blanch the beans in a pot of boiling salted water for 2 minutes, drain and run under cold water to stop the cooking process. They should be lovely and bright green.
To serve, dollop the yoghurt onto four plates and use the back of spoon to spread it around a little. Divide the vegetables and meatballs between the plates and top with the beans. Scatter over the dill fronds and give a final drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
You could serve this in the centre of the table and let everyone serve their own, like a big share plate.
If you like this Tray Bake you may like to try this one next time……..