Buffalo, Mushroom & Feta Meatballs

I arrived in SF to discovered some ground buffalo meat hiding in the freezer. Never one to shy away from a challenge, I quickly found this recipe. The mushrooms in this recipe aren't very noticeable but they do help keep the meatballs very moist. The flavours in the meatballs are excellent. The cooking method of using the oven also makes things very easy. The balls ended up a little flat on one side, but I think if that's my biggest complaint, it's a good sign. The original also includes a tomato sauce, but I think the meatballs hold their own nicely without the sauce. The original also calls for chopped basil stems in the meatballs. I just added a bit of chopped leaves in with the parsley.

One year ago: Indian Cooking Building Blocks
Two years ago: Meat Balls in Tomato Sauce (how appropriate!)
Three [is that for real??] years ago: Blueberry Boy Bait

Buffalo, Mushroom & Feta Meatballs (slightly adapted from Food52)

Ingredients
Olive oil
1/2 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 large garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped
8 ounces Cremini mushrooms, finely chopped
1 pound ground buffalo meat (bison)
2 tbsp freshly chopped basil
1/4 cup freshly chopped parsley
1 large egg
3 ounces feta cheese, broken into pea-sized cubes
1 pinch ground cumin
1 pinch ground corinander
1/2 lemon zest
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1. Heat the oven to 425F (400F convection) In a medium-sized deep frying pan heat 1 Tbsp olive oil over a medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until softened, without coloring about 5-10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for a further 1 minute.
2. Transfer onions/garlic to a large bowl.
4. Meanwhile, In a large frying pan (you can use the same one if you want to save pans), heat a drop or two of olive oil over a high heat. Sauté the mushrooms until lightly golden and softened (about 2-3 minutes). Add to the bowl of onions/garlic and allow to cool.
5. To the cooled onions/garlic/mushrooms add the remaining ingredients and use your hands to gently but thoroughly mix together. Form into 16 balls about the size of golf balls. The mixture is quite wet but don’t squeeze too hard together or the meatballs will be tough. Place onto a baking tray (either greased or lined with bake-o-glide).
6. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until lightly golden. (check after 15 minutes, times will vary depending on oven temp).