Sheftalies
Another traditional Cypriot dish,sheftalies might become your all-time favorite if prepared correctly. This flavorful blend of spices and minced beef is wrapped in omentum and grilled on a grill rack. You may enjoy sheftalies with salad, lemon, and dips like 'tzatziki,' 'hummus,' or 'tahini salad.' Another alternative is to serve the meatballs with pickles and roasted veggies on the side. The word "sheftalia" is derived from Turkish and literally means "peach." This is hardly unexpected given that 'Sheftalies' resemble luscious peaches and taste best when eaten fresh!
Ingredients:
1.500 grams (3.30 lbs.) ground pork3 onions, finely chopped4 medium tomatoes grated1 cup of parsley, finely chopped1 tbsp salt½ tsp pepper½ tsp ground cinnamon1 kilo Caul fat, called panna or mpolia, in Greek*½ cup lemon juice
Instructions:
- Wash the caul fat well under running cold water and place it in a bowl, add the lemon juice and leave it for 10-15 minutes.
- Rinse and let it drain.In a large bowl mix the ground pork, onion, parsley, tomato, salt, pepper and the cinnamon.
- To prepare them, carefully unravel the caul fat and stretch it out over your work surface.
- Place a spoonful of the ground meat at the edge and fold in the outside edges and roll it once into a neat little package, shaping it with the palms of your hand, just as we wrap dolmades and cut it with a sharp knife.
- Thread sheftalia using two metal skewers, with 4-5 sheftalia lengthwise depending on the size of the skewers or place them inside a wire basket grill.
- Prepare a charcoal grill, same as for souvla or souvlakia. Do not place too close to heat as sheftalia must cook fairly slow, so that the inside is well cooked and the outside nicely browned without being burnt.
- Grill around twenty minutes, turning the grill frequently, until the outside is crispy and dark.
