Greek Salad Lamb Burgers
Burgers are called “biftekia” in the Greek diet and they make for a great treat, especially if you’re looking for something different for any weekend cookout or grill fest! The Mediterranean diet ingredients that are in this Greek recipe run the gamut of everything from great extra virgin Greek olive oil to dried Greek oregano, sea salt, feta cheese, of course, and Greek yogurt. This recipe combines two Greek classics: lamb and Greek salad! Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ pounds ground lamb
- ¼ cup dry red wine
- 2 - 3 tablespoons extra virgin Greek olive oil
- 1 ripe small or plum tomato grated
- 1 teaspoon dried Greek oregano
- Greek sea salt to taste
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ cup chopped fresh mint
- ½ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
For the dressing:
- ½ large cucumber peeled, grated and squeezed very dry in a clean towel
- ¾ cup Greek yogurt
- ½ cup crumbled Greek feta
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh mint leaves
- 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
- 1 clove garlic minced
For garnish
- 4 - 8 large thin red onion slices
- 4 - 8 large thin tomato slices
- 8 - 12 cucumber slices or dill cucumber pickle slices
- 4 burger buns
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin Greek olive oil for brushing the buns
- 1 small bunch of arugula trimmed washed and spun dry
Instructions
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Place the ground lamb in a medium bowl. Add the olive oil, grated tomato, red wine, oregano, sea salt and pepper. Add the garlic, mint, parsley, mint, salt and pepper. Knead to combine. Divide into 4 portions and shape into burgers. Refrigerate for 15 to 30 minutes, to firm up.
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Whisk together the crumbled feta, yogurt, mint, vinegar, 1 minced clove of garlic, and salt and pepper to taste in a small bowl. Refrigerate sauce until ready to serve.
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Light the grill to medium and grill the burgers, turning just once, until cooked to desired doneness, about 4 to 5 minutes per side for medium to medium-well burgers.
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Lightly oil the insides of the burger buns (split them open!). Grill the buns open side down until lightly brown and marked with grill marks, for a minute or so per side. Top each bottom half of each bun with a little arugula, then with the burger. Spread a little of the yogurt - feta sauce over the burger and garnish with onion, tomato and cucumber or pickle slices. Serve.
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