Seftalies (Σεφταλιές) from Cyprus

Seftalies

 

It's a quite simple recipe, just burghers wrapped in caul of fat. Half a teaspoon of cinnamon powder gives that extra kick in the mix. The size varies from burghers to meatballs but I prefer the the latter since the feeling of the fat is minimum. The best option is to grill them in your BBQ, but yesterday it was a rainy day here, so I put them under the grill in my oven ant they were equally great. The caul of fat I had was rather small, so I made small meatballs with the rest of the stuffing.

Now, the ingredients:

- 750 grams mince (I used 500 grams lamb ans 250 beef, but you can also use pork)
- 1 large onion
- half a loaf stale bread, without the crust, soaked in water and then squizzed
- 1 bunch of parsley
- 1 egg
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
- 2 level tsp salt
- caul of fat

caul of fat

Put the mince in mixing bowl.
Add the bread, the onion and the parsley finely chopped, the egg, salt, pepper and the cinammon.
Mix well and let it rest in the fridge for half an hour.

Take the coul of fat and put it in a bowl with tiepid water and two tablespoons of wine vinegar.
Rinse it and strain it wit a clean kitchen towel.
Put it on your working surface and cut strips of 8 cm in diameter.

Take a small quantity of your stuffing and wrap it with the caul of fat, just as you would with spring rolls.

Grill them until the fat gets a golden brown colour and serve them with fried potatoes (This time of year we have plenty of Cypriot potatoes) and a green salad.

We like finely chopped lettuce with spring onions and dill, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and wine vinegar.

If you want to be more authentic, serve also some fried haloumi cheese.

Good Morning Cyprus!