Making a burger is a great dish to make and have together with friends in the weekend, and especially during summer. So the following recipe is my interpretation of a burger with a Greek flavour. Behold the recipe for the Greek Burger.
Bugers with a bun, were not really famous in Greece when I was growing up but they become more in the last few years. You see in the past they were considered proper junk food and when you wanted to eat one you usually had to go to one of the big fast food chains.
Things have changed though and now there are a lot of “gourmet” burger restaurants in Greece as there are in other countries also and you can see people going out and trying them during the hot summer days.
Summer time is great, as long as you have a nice garden where you can barbeque and the weather is nice . When I was living in Greece, having 30 degrees during summer time was something certain and many people were out in the local tavernas during the weekend enjoying the sun or barbequing in their homes.
Surely, in UK we don’t manage to enjoy the same temperature during summer but on those -rare-opportunities where the sun is shining above us we do manage to make the most out of it. Last year, I did had the opportunity with my flatmate to try some different variation of burgers when we barbequed in our flat which made me really happy but also tried some during the winter to come with my favourite style.
So inevitably I came to my own variation. Get ready for a greek burger with feta, tzatziki and minced lamp meat!
INGREDIENTS FOR THE GREEK BURGER RECIPE
- 500gr of Minced Meat (preferably lamp)
- 1 large onion
- 250-300gr of crumbled feta cheese
- Slices of letuce
- Breadcrumbs from 2-3 slices of bread
- Roasted red peppers sliced
- Olive Oil
- Salt, Pepper
- Oregano
Tzatziki Ingredients
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- 3 cups Greek yogurt
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- 1 garlic clove, minced
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- 1 large English cucumber, diced (the long, skinny ones)
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- 1 tablespoon salt (for salting cucumbers)
- 1 tablespoon fresh dill (or both, depending on preference) or 1 tablespoon of fresh mint, chopped (or both, depending on preference)
First you need to make the tzatziki recipe.
In food processor or blender, add cucumbers, garlic, dill and/or mint, and a few grinds of black pepper. Process until well blended, then stir into yogurt.
Taste before adding any extra salt, then add salt if needed. Place in refrigerator for at least two hours before serving so flavors can blend. Check a video on how to do it here
On to our burger.
Take a big a bowl and add the minced meat, the large onion chopped, as well ass the crumbled feta cheese, the roasted pepper, breadcrumbs as well as oregano, pepper, salt and around 2 spoons of olive oil.
With your hands try to create equal sized burgers. Leave them aside to cool down for 5-10 minutes while you pre-heat the oven (or get your barbecue read)
Put them into your oven for around 30 minutes depending on your taste. For me the perfect burger needs to have some juice inside and not be overcooked.
After you heat up your buns then its time to create your perfect Greek Burger.
So, a slice of bun, lettuce, your burger, a big spoon of tzatziki sauce, tomato, and some extra onions on top. Cover with the top bun and you are ready to go!
Enjoy!
