A Light Touch for Meatballs

Put the cracked wheat in a bowl, pour over enough boiling water to cover, then set aside to swell.

Peel the beets and onion and grate them coarsely into a large bowl.

Add the ground lamb, garlic, dill, parsley, and a generous grinding of salt and black pepper.

Squeeze any water from the cracked wheat with your hands and add to the meat.

Mix everything together thoroughly, then squish the mixture into little patties about the size of a flattened golf ball.

Cover with plastic wrap (I do this tightly because the chopped garlic will taint everything in the fridge), then chill for at least an hour.

Preheat the oven to 350F (180C).

Make the dressing by grating the cucumber coarsely and leaving it in a colander, lightly sprinkled with salt, for half an hour.

Squeeze it dry, then mix it with the chopped mint, capers, and yogurt.

Season with salt and black pepper.

Heat a nonstick pan, brush the patties with a little peanut oil, and fry until golden on both sides.

Try not to move the meatballs very much when they are cooking; you risk them falling apart.

Once they are lightly browned on both sides, carefully lift them into a baking dish and finish in a hot oven for fifteen to twenty minutes (incidentally, you can only tell if they are done by tasting one, as the beets give them a rich red color, making it impossible to gauge by sight whether they are cooked).

Drizzle with the cucumber dressing and eat.