I have been craving lamb so I decided to make lamb burgers. While I was buying kalamata olives, I saw a jar of grape leaves and decided to reserve a bit of the ground lamb to make some stuffed grape leaves (dolmas).
Here is what I came up with:
Feta Stuffed Lamb Burgers on Grilled Foccacia with Fresh Spinach and Tzatziki
Stuffed Grape Leaves
For the tzatziki, I grated one cucumber (peel and seed if not using an English cucumber) and lightly salted and placed in a strainer to drain off the bitterness. Then I added 1 t. of fresh mint, pinch of black pepper, and stirred in ¾ C Greek yogurt. Because I salted the cucumbers (which I squeezed excess water out of after they strained for 15 minutes) I didn’t add any other salt.
(as always, scroll for description and click to enlarge)
For the dolmas I blanched 1 C white long grain rice (brown basmati can be substituted) for 10 minutes then rinsed it with cold water and drained. To the rice I added:
¼ C minced onion
¼ C toasted pine nuts
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1 T fresh dill, minced
Salt and pepper
After combining these ingredients, I took out 1/3 of the mixture and added it to ¼ pound ground lamb that I had browned and cooled. I now had mixtures to make lamb and vegetarian dolmas.
To fill and wrap dolmas: Drain, rinse and squeeze out liquid from one jar of grape leaves. Spread out a big leave or a couple of small leaves, vein side up, and add 1 ½ T of filling to the middle of leaf. Fold one half of the leaf over the filling, fold over sides and roll up like a spring roll or burrito.
Place the dolmas, seam side down, in 2 olive oiled glass pie pans or casserole dishes. I got about 16 of each type out of the fillings. Pour ½ can (11.5 ounce) low sodium V8 juice, ¼ C olive oil and juice of 1 lemon over each pan of dolmas. Cover pans with a piece of parchment, and then tightly cover with foil. Bake for 50 minutes at 325’. Cool to room temperature and eat. Good as is, or with a dollop of tzatziki.
To make 2 feta stuffed lamb burgers:
Season ¾ lbs. of ground lamb with salt, pepper, 2 T minced onion, 2 cloves, minced garlic, ¼ t each, ground cumin and coriander, ½ t dried oregano, 1 t chopped fresh mint, ¼ t cayenne pepper, 4-6 pitted kalamata olives, chopped and mix gently before forming into 4 equally sized balls. Slice 4 pieces of feta cheese (low fat can be used, as well as crumbled) For each ball into a patty, placing cheese of two, then press and seal another patty onto each. Pan fry or grill gently for about 8 minutes, turning once halfway through time. Allow to rest a few minutes before assembling. Serve on grilled bread (I used rosemary foccacia) or warmed pita bread) and top with a small handful fresh spinach, a couple of slices of tomato and a large dollop of tzatziki.
