No More Boring Meatballs: Apricot & Curry Meatballs with Rice Salad Inspired by Washington Post

Do you love meatballs but are tired of the same recipe you've been using for years? Well, then you are going to love my recipe for Apricot & Curry Meatballs with Rice Salad.

A while back I saw a recipe for Apricot-Studded Meatballs With Lemony Couscous on Washington Post and printed it out for a rainy day. Rainy day, in this case, was the day when I had very little inspiration to cook, but wanted something slightly different and delicious. I changed a few ingredients and directions in the recipe and decided to make a cold rice salad instead of lemony couscous.

 Apricot & Curry Meatballs with Rice Salad

Ingredients
for the meatballs
1 pound ground beef
1/3 cup chopped dried apricots
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 red onion, chopped
1 egg
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
salt
olive oil for sautéing

for the rice salad
3 cups cooked rice
1/4 cups sliced black olives
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
1 tomato, chopped
1 cucumber, chopped
juice of 1 lemon
1/3 cups feta
olive oil
salt & pepper

Directions
1. In a bowl, combine all the ingredients for the meatballs (other than the olive oil). {Isn't this a super pretty Pyrex bowl!????}

2. Form the meatballs and sauté them in olive oil in a skillet. You may want to do this step in batches. Cut into one of the meatballs to make sure it's cooked through.

3. Combine all the ingredients for the rice salad.

That's all it takes: incredibly easy!!! The salad is great if you have leftover rice. You can also use pasta if you like.

This recipe is full of vegetables and is visually appealing as well as really flavorful. I served the meatballs hot with the cold rice salad and liked the combination. It also keeps great for a few days.

What do you put into YOUR meatballs?