Spanikopita Chicken Meatballs with Spicy Cucumber and Yogurt Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus some for liberal drizzling
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped, divided
• 2 boxes frozen chopped spinach, defrosted.
• 3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1 pound ground chicken
• 1 tablespoons grill seasoning (recommended: McCormick Montreal Seasoning)
• 1 1/2 cups Greek style plain yogurt
• 1/3 seedless cucumber, peeled and chopped
• 3 tablespoons fresh dill
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons, 1/2 a palm full, cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons, 1/2 a palm full, coriander
• Salt

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

In a bowl combine onion and 3 cloves of garlic. Squeeze the water out of the spinach until completely dry. Separate the spinach as you add it to garlic and onion. Add feta, chicken and grill seasoning to the bowl and a liberal drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil. Mix the meat with veggies and feta and form 18 (1 1/2-inch) meatballs. Place the meatballs on a nonstick cookie sheet and bake 10 to 12 minutes until they are golden and juices run clear.

Place yogurt, garlic, cucumber, dill, lemon juice, cumin, coriander and a little salt in food processor and process until smooth. Adjust seasonings and transfer to a serving bowl. Serve meatballs alongside sauce with toothpicks.