Keftedes are Greek meatballs, sometimes made with a mixture of chickpeas and sardines. For our vegetarian version, we substitute the sardines with feta cheese, which gives the keftedes a deeply savory note while keeping them meat-free. Based on the chickpea and sardine keftedes from “Smashing Plates” by London chef Maria Elia, this version is just as flavorful. In this recipe from “Tuesday Nights Mediterranean,” which features weeknight-friendly meals from the region, we flatten portions of the chickpea mixture into patties directly in the skillet, instead of shaping them into balls. This creates more surface area for browning and speeds the cooking. To begin, we whisk an egg with paprika, cinnamon, cumin, salt and pepper, then add the chickpeas, mashing them with a potato masher until they are broken down but not completely smooth. Feta and herbs are mixed in, and the mixture is shaped into balls and transferred to the refrigerator to chill for 15 minutes, which helps them hold together in the skillet. Once smashed into a nonstick skillet, let the delicate keftedes cook undisturbed until they form a golden brown crust, and flip them only once. These chickpea patties are great with a simple salad, or tuck them into pita with vegetables such as onions, tomatoes, cucumber and radishes. Serve with yogurt-tahini sauce and lemon wedges.
CHICKPEA AND FETA KEFTEDES
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Keftedes are Greek meatballs, sometimes made with a mixture of chickpeas and sardines. For our vegetarian version, we substitute the sardines with feta cheese, which gives the keftedes a deeply savory note while keeping them meat-free. Based on the chickpea and sardine keftedes from “Smashing Plates” by London chef Maria Elia, this version is just as flavorful. In this recipe from “Tuesday Nights Mediterranean,” which features weeknight-friendly meals from the region, we flatten portions of the chickpea mixture into patties directly in the skillet, instead of shaping them into balls. This creates more surface area for browning and speeds the cooking. To begin, we whisk an egg with paprika, cinnamon, cumin, salt and pepper, then add the chickpeas, mashing them with a potato masher until they are broken down but not completely smooth. Feta and herbs are mixed in, and the mixture is shaped into balls and transferred to the refrigerator to chill for 15 minutes, which helps them hold together in the skillet. Once smashed into a nonstick skillet, let the delicate keftedes cook undisturbed until they form a golden brown crust, and flip them only once. These chickpea patties are great with a simple salad, or tuck them into pita with vegetables such as onions, tomatoes, cucumber and radishes. Serve with yogurt-tahini sauce and lemon wedges.
Keftedes are Greek meatballs, sometimes made with a mixture of chickpeas and sardines. For our vegetarian version, we substitute the sardines with feta cheese, which gives the keftedes a deeply savory note while keeping them meat-free. Based on the chickpea and sardine keftedes from “Smashing Plates” by London chef Maria Elia, this version is just as flavorful. In this recipe from “Tuesday Nights Mediterranean,” which features weeknight-friendly meals from the region, we flatten portions of the chickpea mixture into patties directly in the skillet, instead of shaping them into balls. This creates more surface area for browning and speeds the cooking. To begin, we whisk an egg with paprika, cinnamon, cumin, salt and pepper, then add the chickpeas, mashing them with a potato masher until they are broken down but not completely smooth. Feta and herbs are mixed in, and the mixture is shaped into balls and transferred to the refrigerator to chill for 15 minutes, which helps them hold together in the skillet. Once smashed into a nonstick skillet, let the delicate keftedes cook undisturbed until they form a golden brown crust, and flip them only once. These chickpea patties are great with a simple salad, or tuck them into pita with vegetables such as onions, tomatoes, cucumber and radishes. Serve with yogurt-tahini sauce and lemon wedges.
This image released by Milk Street shows a recipe for chickpea and feta meatballs. (Milk Street via AP)
This image released by Milk Street shows a recipe for chickpea and feta meatballs. (Milk Street via AP)
This image released by Milk Street shows a recipe for chickpea and feta meatballs. (Milk Street via AP)
This image released by Milk Street shows a recipe for chickpea and feta meatballs. (Milk Street via AP)
This image released by Milk Street shows a recipe for chickpea and feta meatballs. (Milk Street via AP)
Start to finish: 45 minutes Servings: 4 ½ cup whole-milk plain yogurt
¼ cup tahini
6 teaspoons lemon juice, divided, plus lemon wedges to serve
1½ teaspoons ground cumin, divided
Kosher salt and ground black pepper
1 large egg
1½ teaspoons sweet paprika
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Two 15½-ounce cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled (½ cup)
½ cup finely chopped fresh mint, flat-leaf parsley or a combination, plus whole or torn leaves to serve
2 tablespoons grapeseed or other neutral oil, divided In a small bowl, stir together the yogurt, tahini, 4 teaspoons of lemon juice and 1 teaspoon of cumin. Transfer ⅓ cup of the mixture to a large bowl. Into the remaining yogurt mixture, stir the remaining 2 teaspoons lemon juice and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper; set aside for serving. To the large bowl, add the egg, paprika, cinnamon, the remaining ½ teaspoon cumin, ¾ teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper, then whisk to combine. Add the chickpeas and mash with a potato masher until broken down but not completely smooth. Add the feta and herb(s), then mix well. Form into 12 evenly sized balls (each about a scant ¼ cup); place on a plate and refrigerate for about 15 minutes. In a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium, heat 1 tablespoon of oil until shimmering. Add 6 of the balls, spacing them evenly apart (return the remainder to the refrigerator), then flatten each with a metal spatula into a 2- to 2½-inch patty. Cook until golden brown on both sides, 3 to 4 minutes per side, gently flipping them once. Transfer to a platter and tent with foil. Wipe out the skillet and repeat with the remaining oil and patties. Top the keftedes with whole or torn herb(s) and serve with the yogurt-tahini sauce and lemon wedges. EDITOR’S NOTE: For more recipes, go to Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street at 177milkstreet.com/ap
This image released by Milk Street shows a recipe for chickpea and feta meatballs. (Milk Street via AP)
This image released by Milk Street shows a recipe for chickpea and feta meatballs. (Milk Street via AP)
This image released by Milk Street shows a recipe for chickpea and feta meatballs. (Milk Street via AP)
This image released by Milk Street shows a recipe for chickpea and feta meatballs. (Milk Street via AP)
This image released by Milk Street shows a recipe for chickpea and feta meatballs. (Milk Street via AP)
This image released by Milk Street shows a recipe for chickpea and feta meatballs. (Milk Street via AP)
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu worked to mend ties with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Friday and offered measured optimism about progress toward a cease-fire deal for Gaza as he neared the end of a contentious U.S. visit that put on display the growing American divisions over support for the Israeli-Hamas war.
At Trump's Florida Mar-a-Lago estate, where the two men met face-to-face for the first time in nearly four years, Netanyahu told journalists he wanted to see U.S.-mediated talks succeed for a cease-fire and release of hostages.
“I hope so,” Netanyahu said, when reporters asked if his U.S. trip had made progress. While Netanyahu at home is increasingly accused of resisting a deal to end the 9-month-old war to stave off the potential collapse of his far-right government when it ends, he said Friday he was "certainly eager to have one. And we’re working on it.”
As president, Trump went well beyond his predecessors in fulfilling Netanyahu’s top wishes from the United States. Yet relations soured after Netanyahu became one of the first world leaders to congratulate Joe Biden for his 2020 presidential victory, which Trump continues to deny.
The two men now have a strong interest in restoring their relationship, both for the political support their alliance brings and for the luster it gives each with their conservative supporters.
A beaming Trump was waiting for Netanyahu on the stone steps outside his private club and residence in Palm Beach, Florida. He warmly clasped the hands of the Israeli leader.
“We’ve always had a great relationship,” Trump insisted before journalists. Asked as the two sat down in a muraled room for talks if Netanyahu’s trip to Mar-a-Lago was repairing their bond, Trump responded, “It was never bad.”
For both men, Friday’s meeting was aimed at highlighting for their home audiences their depiction of themselves as strong leaders who have gotten big things done on the world stage, and can again.
Netanyahu’s Florida trip followed a fiery address to a joint meeting of Congress on Wednesday that defended his government’s conduct of the war and condemned American protesters galvanized by the killing of more than 39,000 Palestinians in the conflict.
On Thursday, Netanyahu had met in Washington with Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, who appears on track to becoming the new Democratic presidential nominee after Biden decided to step out of the race. Both pressed the Israeli leader to work quickly to wrap up a deal to bring a cease-fire and release hostages held by Hamas.
Trump’s campaign said he pledged in Friday's meeting to “make every effort to bring peace to the Middle East” and combat antisemitism on college campuses if American voters elect him to the presidency in November.
Netanyahu handed Trump a framed photo that the Israeli leader said showed a child who has been held hostage by Hamas-led militants since the first hours of the war. “We’ll get it taken care of,” Trump assured him.
In a speech later Friday before a group of young Christian conservatives, Trump said he also asked Netanyahu during their meeting how “a Jewish person, or a person that loves Israel” can vote for Democrats.
He also laced into Harris for missing Netanyahu's speech and claimed she “doesn’t like Jewish people” and “doesn’t like Israel." Harris has been married to a Jewish man for a decade.
For Trump, the meeting was a chance to be cast as an ally and statesman, as well as to sharpen efforts by Republicans to portray themselves as the party most loyal to Israel.
Divisions among Americans over U.S. support for Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza have opened cracks in years of strong bipartisan backing for Israel, the biggest recipient of U.S. aid.
For Netanyahu, repairing relations with Trump is imperative given the prospect that Trump may once again become president of the United States, which is Israel’s vital arms supplier and protector.
One gamble for Netanyahu is whether he could get more of the terms he wants in any deal on a Gaza cease-fire and hostage release, and in his much hoped-for closing of a normalization deal with Saudi Arabia, if he waits out the Biden administration in hopes that Trump wins.
“Benjamin Netanyahu has spent much of his career in the last two decades in tethering himself to the Republican Party,” said Aaron David Miller, a former U.S. diplomat for Arab-Israeli negotiations, now a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
For the next six months, that means “mending ties with an irascible, angry president," Miller said, meaning Trump.
Netanyahu and Trump last met at a September 2020 White House signing ceremony for the signature diplomatic achievement of both men’s political careers. It was an accord brokered by the Trump administration in which the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain agreed to establish normal diplomatic relations with Israel.
For Israel, it amounted to the two countries formally recognizing it for the first time. It was a major step in what Israel hoped would be an easing of tensions and a broadening of economic ties with its Arab neighbors.
In public postings and statements after his break with Netanyahu, Trump portrayed himself as having stuck his neck out for Israel as president, and Netanyahu paying him back with disloyalty.
He also has criticized Netanyahu on other points, faulting him as “not prepared” for the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks that started the war in Gaza, for example.
In his high-profile speech to Congress on Wednesday and again Friday at Mar-a-Lago, Netanyahu poured praise on Trump, calling the regional accords Trump helped broker historic and thanking him “for all the things he did for Israel.”
Netanyahu listed actions by the Trump administration long-sought by Israeli governments — the U.S. officially saying Israel had sovereignty over the Golan Heights, captured from Syria during a 1967 war; a tougher U.S. policy toward Iran; and Trump declaring Jerusalem the capital of Israel, breaking with longstanding U.S. policy that Jerusalem's status should be decided in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.
“I appreciated that,” Trump told “Fox & Friends” on Thursday, referring to Netanyahu's praise.
Trump has repeatedly urged that Israel with U.S. support “finish the job” in Gaza and destroy Hamas, but he hasn’t elaborated on how.
Natalie Melzer in Tel Aviv, Israel, Adriana Gomez Licon in West Palm Beach, Florida, and Jill Colvin in New York contributed. Knickmeyer reported from Washington. Price reported from New York.
Follow the AP's coverage of the 2024 election at https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024.
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at the Turning Point Believers' Summit, Friday, July 26, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump listens as he meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his Mar-a-Lago estate, Friday, July 26, 2024, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his Mar-a-Lago estate, Friday, July 26, 2024, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks while meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his Mar-a-Lago estate, Friday, July 26, 2024, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks while meeting with Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate, Friday, July 26, 2024, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, at his Mar-a-Lago estate, Friday, July 26, 2024, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his Mar-a-Lago estate, Friday, July 26, 2024, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his Mar-a-Lago estate, Friday, July 26, 2024, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
FILE - President Donald Trump, right, meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office, Sept. 15, 2020, at the White House in Washington. Trump is due to talk face-to-face with Netanyahu for the first time in nearly four years. The meeting Friday, July 26, 2024, at Mar-a-Lago will mend a break that has lasted since 2021. Trump at the time blasted Netanyahu for being one of the first leaders to congratulate President Joe Biden for his election victory. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
