Pork Meatballs and Cucumber Salad (2024)

¼ cup golden raisins

2 lb. thin-skinned cucumbers (such as Persian, English hothouse, and/or kirby) cut into bite-size pieces

2½ tsp. kosher salt, divided, plus more

3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, divided

3 Tbsp. pine nuts

¾ cup Castelvetrano olives, pitted, divided

1 large egg

2 garlic cloves, finely grated

½ cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)

3 Tbsp. finely chopped parsley

¼ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes, plus more for serving

Freshly ground black pepper

1 lb. ground pork

½ small red onion, very thinly sliced (use a mandoline if you have one)

2 cups tender herb leaves (such as mint and/or parsley)

1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar

Plain whole-milk Greek yogurt (for serving)

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Reviews (29)

• Loved the recipe but thought it needed a bit more acidity so made a few minor additions/changes to our taste. Chopped the raisins for the meatballs and added lemon zest. Also added lemon zest and lemon juice to the salad. Didn't have the amount of pine nuts called for so added chopped pistachios to the mix. Instead of the yogurt, used a premade spiced labneh and baba ghanoush. Served with naan bread. Will definitely be making again.

  • Patricia

  • NYC

  • 4/29/2024

• Oh my gosh so good.

  • Nancy

  • St. Paul

  • 11/18/2023

• I love this! Made the meatballs a little bit bigger so I got 12 out of 1 pound of meat. Didn't have that much mint so used chopped up iceberg lettuce and a handful of mint chopped. Never was a yogurt fan till I tried this.

  • Pat in Ohio

  • Fairborn, OHio

  • 10/20/2023

• This was very tasty and an easy weeknight dinner to pull together. I did use substitutes based on what I had available, kalamata olives and regular breadcrumbs, but it all worked out nicely. Next time will add the olives called for in the recipe to the grocery list. Will definitely make again.

  See Also

  Coconut Chicken with Apricot Sauce

  • Lucy Parker

  • Ottawa, ON

  • 5/16/2023

• You’re touting this as a gluten-free recipe but panko breadcrumbs actually have wheat in them.

  • SP

  • Boston

  • 1/20/2023

• Definitely on my remake list this was delicious, I used oregano & lemon thyme as these were the herbs I had an abundance of in my garden. Omitted olives as I had none & used heirloom miximatos as a side to ad colour .. so tasty ...

  • Karen Elsie

  • SYDNEY AUSTRALIA

  • 11/20/2022

• This was great. We ended up making it more of a "bowl" situation by adding a layer of rice at the bottom and topping it with homemade Hummus. My 5yo even enjoyed it. And it made a small dent in the 50lbs of cucumbers I've pulled from the garden. Ha!

  • Graham

  • Johnson City, TN

  • 8/9/2022

• Absolutely delicious! Wish I could give it 6 stars. I didn’t salt the cucumbers because I like them really crisp - just added salt to the salad when I mixed it. As others have said I think it would be good made with lamb too. I added some red pepper flakes to the salad for extra zip. Might add some lemon zest to the yogurt next time too.

  • Vicki

  • Bellevue, WA

  • 6/15/2022

• YUM!!! Made exactly as written and it was delicious!!

  • Z

  • Aspen

  • 6/7/2022

• Very good - I could see also working well with lamb. I added the pine nuts on top after plating the rest, and mixed some sprouts with a little purple in them because I was feeling fancy and I like to amp up the greens. Sprinkled a little aleppo pepper for garnish contrast on the white yogurt. I also blended nonfat greek yogurt with feta and olive oil instead of leaving yogurt plain. I thought this was very good and my guests also asked for details about that sauce. I could have added a little more red pepper in the meatballs themselves. I doubled the meatball recipe so I could freeze them and was glad I did because people kept going back for more. Also, cooked meatballs for about 10 mins, switching racks 5-6 mins in, and it could have used a minute less, they were on the verge of being overdone.

  • Lauren R

  • Providence, RI

  • 11/11/2021

• WOW! This was really great. As other reviewers said, it is an unusual combination, but it all comes together. I am always to salt and drain cucumbers now.I couldn't stop eating them before I even got them into the salad. The only change I made was the golden raisins. I forgot to get them so I substituted rehydrated dried cranberries. It was maybe not quite as sweet, but it does work in a pinch.

  • Terri

  • NH

  • 9/25/2021

• As others noted, this is a surprising combination but so tasty! We subbed ground turkey for the pork and also added some cherry tomatoes, but otherwise followed the recipe. Everything works so well together and the meatballs were delicious! I will definitely make again.

  • Suecq

  • Northern California

  • 9/24/2021

• Forgot to mention in previous review - I'm at elevation and meatballs were pretty much done after 10 mins, so be careful not to overcook. I also chopped the raisins in the meatballs but left them whole in the salad.

  • laurenrds

  • Truckee, CA

  • 8/17/2021

• Loved this - big hit for a small summer dinner party. We opted out of the olives in the salad because one guest wasn't fond of them, but we kept them in the meatballs and I thought they added good seasoning but didn't deter the one guest who was usually averse. Added a tomato salad and grilled bread to round out the meal and everyone agreed it was delicious and light enough to leave you satisfied but not heavy.

  • laurenrds

  • Truckee, CA

  • 8/17/2021

• Excellent! DH and I both enjoyed it. I agree that the meatballs were somewhat dry, and I will add moisture to them next time. I chopped up the raisins (as well as I could); next time I will chop the first half and add whole raisins to the salad. I was low on herbs, so I augmented them with salad greens.

  • browns19fan

  • Cleveland

  • 7/28/2021

TagsMeatballGround PorkPorkMeatCucumberVegetableCastelvetrano OliveOliveYogurtDairyMainDinnerGluten FreeWeeknight MealsOven BakeSummerEpicurious