Recipe for Celery Meatballs with Herb Sauce and Lemon

This recipe details how to prepare celery meatballs served with a flavorful herb sauce and optional lemon slices. The dish serves six people and requires about 15 minutes of preparation and 60 minutes total cooking time, with an easy difficulty level.

The meatballs combine grated celery root, chopped celery stalks and leaves, grated zucchini, ground meat or chicken (or a mix), garlic, lemon zest and juice, breadcrumbs, seasoning, egg, baking soda, and fresh herbs. The mixture is shaped into 25 meatballs and fried in canola oil for 2-3 minutes on each side until cooked.

For the sauce, olive oil is heated with a spice blend called hawaij and ground coriander or dried herbs like oregano or basil. Chopped celery stalks, purple onion, and sliced garlic are sautéed before adding hot water mixed with salt and honey. The meatballs are returned to the pot, optionally with thin lemon slices, and simmered covered on medium-low heat for about 20 minutes. Fresh herbs are stirred in before serving.

The dish is recommended to be served hot alongside white rice and can be stored in the refrigerator for up to four days. The recipe was originally published on August 18, 2026, by Boaz Lavi and styled by Talia Hadar.