Lamb Burger with Feta, Red Onion and Spinach
Posted: April 10th, 2011 | Joanna | | Tags: feta, greek burger, lamb burger | No Comments »
[After all of Jessie's vegan food options I'm doing a 180 with some delicious burgers! Sorry vegans!]
I went on a date recently with a guy who told me upfront, he doesn’t eat burgers. Actually no ground meat in any form, patties, balls or loaves. Now to each his own, but I love me a good burger. Shake Shack, Burger Joint, and Astoria’s own Bareburger… hand me a juicy patty of meat between two buns with avocado and bbq sauce and mmmm. …I can’t get enough.
Though I live in the Greek food capital of the world, Astoria, I never ate lamb until my visit to Morocco back in early 2010. Lamb is HUGE there. I ate a lot of delicious lamb tagine; slow cooked lamb in apricot and prunes, and alot of dried fruits. I figured I was in Africa, I should eat like the people. But back in the states I still had yet to really cook a lamb dish I enjoyed. I didn’t really have inspiration. On a visit to Meatball Shop last fall, it finally clicked. The ‘daily ball’ that evening was lamb meatballs with feta and spinach. Though I didn’t order it that night the combination stuck in my head.
I decided to go for it, if meatballs worked then why not lamb burgers. So upon inspection of many recipes, I discovered this fairly easy one from Bon Appétit. Success! I will definitely be bringing this to BBQ’s all this summer. I encourage you to try these out if you’re looking to mix up the usual sirlon burger routine. Delish.
Greek Lamb Burgers with Spinach and Red Onion Salad
From Bon Apetit
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup chopped fresh mint
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 1/3 pounds ground lamb
- 4 hamburger buns or small ciabatta rolls
- 1 1/2 cups baby spinach leaves
- 1 1/3 cups 3/4 crumbled feta cheese (I cut the feta in half, but this is preference)
- 4 1/4-inch-thick red onion slices
- 1 1/2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
Mix first 4 ingredients and 1 1/2 tablespoons oil in medium bowl; mix in lamb. Shape into four 3/4-inch-thick patties. Cook patties in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat 4 minutes per side for medium. I put these in the skillet and kept the lid on. Don’t worry about overcooking. It’s hard to overcook the lamb, being my first time I wasn’t sure how long it would take so I left them a little longer on each side, til they cooked all the way through.
Meanwhile, preheat broiler. Broil buns until golden, about 2 minutes. Top each bun bottom with burger. Toss spinach, feta, onion, vinegar, and 11/2 tablespoons oil in bowl. Place salad atop burgers. Cover with bun tops, pressing firmly to compact. Serve with extra salad on side.
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