SPINACH-FETA LAMB BURGERS WITH YOGURT SAUCE

Hello, dear reader! I don't know why, but last weekend I was moved to turn my apartment into a test kitchen for burgers. Sliders, actually. I'm kind of obsessed with tiny foods, and I'm always filing away ideas for a tiny food party in the back of my mind. My tiny food party will definitely have sliders.

Speaking of tiny food parties, have you seen Teri Lyn Fisher's and Jenny Park's cookbook? It's a book of foods in miniature. Need I say more? (And if you're thinking, dear reader, that's the dumbest thing you ever heard, then you're probably just like my husband. But I'm sorry, you'll have to indulge me: tiny foods are stinkin' cute.)

Anyway, back to my test kitchen. I even made a kind of a theme for myself: international burgers. Yes, I cheated a little because I ended up with an "American" burger, but hey, America knows how to do burgers. So after lots of careful thought about recipes and a day of experimenting, I came up with four burgers: the Greek (this one), the Moroccan, the American, and the Tex-Mex.



I'll post all of the final recipes, one by one. I had two taste-testers (plus myself), so I'll share some of that feedback on the blog, too.

Behold, the Greek!

Spinach-Feta Lamb Burgers with Yogurt Sauce
Inspired by Ellie Krieger’s recipe

Makes 4 sliders. (Or 2 regular-sized burgers.)

1/3 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
1/2 pound ground lamb (can use beef instead, or half beef/half lamb)
1 scallion, diced
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cumin
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
lettuce and thinly sliced cucumber for topping
pita bread, slider-sized buns, or hot-dog buns cut in half

Stir together spinach, feta, dill, and 1/8 teaspoon black pepper.

Using a fork, mix ground lamb with diced scallion. Form into 8 small patties. Top 4 of the patties with spinach mixture then top with remaining patties. Seal burgers gently around the edges. Season tops of burgers evenly with cumin, salt, and remaining pepper.

In a large skillet, cook the patties over medium heat until cooked through.

Garlic-Dill Yogurt Sauce

1/4 cup plain, nonfat Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced
pinch dried dill weed
pinch salt
pinch freshly ground black pepper

In a small bowl, stir together all ingredients.