Fragrant meatballs (Μυρωδάτες κεφτέδες)

Here's a quick and easy recipe I found for fried meatballs, from one of those Sunday newspaper supplements (the Ethnos Cookbook), which will one day disappear with the demise of the paper-based media, in the same way that Gourmet folded recently.

You need:
1 kg beef mince
1 egg
1/2 cup olive oil
2 onions, grated
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 small bunch of fresh mint, finely chopped
1 tsp oregano
2 spring onions, finely chopped (I didn't have any on hand, so I used a leek instead)
the juice of a lemon
1/2 glass of white wine
2 tbsp of chopped parsley
1+1 shot-glasses of ouzo (or tsikoudia, if you are Cretan)
2+2 shot-glasses of water
100g bread
salt
pepper

Mine got a little singed, but don't you let that happen to yours when you make them...

Soak the bread in 1 shot of ouzo and 2 shots of water. Mix all the other ingredients together, till everything has combined very well. Add the bread and mix that in well. Set the mixture aside for 3-4 hours for the fragrances to combine, then shape into small rounds the size of a golf ball. Roll the balls in flour, and let rest for 2 minutes. Fry the balls in very hot oil, turning over all sides until a hard crust is formed, then lower the temperature and cook till the meatballs are cooked through and are well browned.

These meatballs are hard and crisp on the outside but soft and tender on the inside. They can be served with a salad and some fried potatoes; we had them with beetroot salad and some galotiri dip.

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