Greek Lamb Burger with Fried Saganaki, Homemade Bacon, and Cilantro Tzatziki [Zack]

I've been on a burger kick lately, but this Greek lamb burger with fried saganaki, homemade bacon, and cilantro tzatziki is my favorite I've ever made.  I wanted to try to make as much of the burger from scratch as I could (as a personal challenge), but high-quality store-bought ingredients are just as good.

Process:

Start by frying bacon in a medium-low frying pan to render the fat and crisp the bacon.  Remove bacon from pan when crispy and reserve the fat for cooking the lamb burger.

Mince garlic and cilantro, and combine with the mayo.  If you want a smoother presentation, you can put in the food processor or blender for a few pulses.

Toast your buns in advance so you don't have to worry about these later.

Form ground lamb into 3 patties and salt and pepper both sides.

Get 1 non-stick frying pan going over medium heat for the saganaki, and 1 cast iron or regular pan heated up over high heat for the lamb burgers.

Slice the kefalograviera (saganaki cheese) into squares and fry in a little bit of olive oil until crispy on both sides.  You can squeeze a bit of lemon on top if desired.

Cook the burger in your hot pan for a few minutes per side until it reaches your desired internal temperature.

Assemble the burger and enjoy!

Ingredients (makes about 3 burgers):
1lb of ~80/20 ground lamb
1/2lb of sliced bacon
3 burger buns

Tzatziki:
1 cup mayonnaise (or Greek yogurt)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 loose cup of cilantro leaves, minced

Saganaki:
1/2 lb kefalograviera cheese (halloumi works here too)
1T olive oil
optional 1/2 lemon

Song:  Marian Hill - Got it

Parmesan Mayo Burger Sauce [Zack]

If you're tired of the same ole burger toppings, give this creamy parmesan mayo a try.  It's rich, creamy, and tangy and it will perfectly compliment a medium rare burger patty.

We don't have a meat grinder with European plugs, so we hand-chop the beef.  No, it's not fancy.  And no, it's not difficult.  You can control the fat content, and you know where the meat comes from.  I decided to saute shitake mushrooms and add 2 thick slices of bacon on top.

Process:

Here are the ingredients for the parmesan mayo sauce:

Grate the parmesan cheese with a micro plane so it's fluffy.  Measure out 1 cup of the cheese (or 1/2 cup of normal gated cheese), and mix in the 4T mayo, 1T mustard, and 1T cream.  Crack some black pepper in there too.

To finish the rest of the burgers:

Chop the beef to your desired texture on a cutting board.  If you want to add more fat, you can intersperse bacon.

Mix in whatever you like in your burgers.  I did some garlic powder and black pepper.

Start the bacon in a cold frying pan with a little bit of oil.  Slowly fry it until crispy brown.  Cook your chopped mushrooms in the same pan.

Toast the buns, and put your parmesan mayo burger sauce on the bottom bun.  Start the burgers in a screaming hot pan and cook until medium rare.  Serve alongside fries and a salad.  Oh, and maybe a beer.

Ingredients:
4 T mayo
1T dijon mustard
1T cream
1 cup microplaned parmesan reggiano (it's fluffy), or 1/2 cup grated
Freshly cracked black pepper

Song:  Kavinsky - Odd Look (Feat the Weekend)

Vegetarian Pumpkin, Beet, and Mushroom Couscous Burgers [Zack]

While walking through the grocery store, I’m sometimes enticed to stroll past the vegetarian section. I like the idea of being able to cook something quick and healthy from the veg aisle, but I usually refrain from buying something because the products look so processed. It seems like a strange dichotomy: a good portion of people go vegetarian for health reasons, but end up losing some of the benefit due to all the long list of additives in processed foods.

And why would you force tofu to look like pork meat strips that you get in gyros? Or ground beef? Yuk. I’m getting off track….

Lauren had made a very good black bean and quinoa burger a few weeks ago, and I was craving a similar version. We didn’t have quinoa, but we did have bio couscous and some veggies that we could construct into a patty. This is a very healthy alternative to the meaty version. It takes about 45 minutes to make a batch because you have to let the veg cool off once you cook it, but you can double the recipe and freeze some pre-made burgers (separated by wax paper.)  Pop em in the oven on a week night, and eat up!

Process:

Start by slicing the pumpkin into strips and roasting it in an oven at 400F/200C. Put down a light coating of olive oil on your baking sheet, and sprinkle some salt and pepper on top. Bake until the edges slightly brown and it gets fork-tender.

While the pumpkin is going, you’ll need to cook your couscous and sauté your other veggies. Start a small pot of 1.5 cups of salted water boiling.

Heat up a pan on medium heat. Wash and slice your mushrooms, dice your red onion, and dice your beet. Add some oil to the pan, and then add in your mushrooms and onions. Stir them around until they are almost cooked - about 5 minutes, then add your diced beet and cook for another 3-4 minutes.

When the water is boiling for your couscous, pour the 1 cup of measured pasta into the pot and remove it from the heat. Yes, I just learned that couscous is pasta made from grain.  Thanks Google!

Empty out your sautéed vegetables into a nice big bowl and let them cool off. If you try to make the burger with hot ingredients, the steam will make them mushy and it won't stick together. Less water = good.

Your couscous should be finished by now, so fluff it with a fork and add it into the bowl.

Take the roasted pumpkin out of the oven, and let it cool for a few minutes. Add this to the bowl as well. Smash up the everything with a fork or a potato ricer to get rid of the large chunks. Include your breadcrumbs and flour, which will help bind everything together.

Pour in the mustard, sriracha, and oregano, give it another stir, and then you’re ready to make patties.

Quickly make up the sauce – stir together diced feta cheese, yogurt, and some diced red onion.

Form the burgers into hockey pucks the size of your burger buns, and place them in a non-stick skillet.  Cook, turning once for about 3 minutes per side.

Top your toasted buns with the crispy burgers, the creamy sauce, sliced red onion, and fresh lettuce.

Ingredients:
6 baby bella mushrooms
1 red onion
1.5 cups roasted pumpkin
2.5 cups cooked couscous (1 cup dry couscous + 1.5 cups boiling water)
1 tsp dried oregano
1T flour
1/3 to 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1T dijon mustard
1 tsp sriracha

1/2 cup feta
1/4 cup yogurt
1T minced red onion

Techno Healthy Euro Burger Jams:  Major Lazer: Jah No Partial

Greek Chicken Eggplant Burgers [Zack]

I have recently taken a liking to eggplant. I think it's vastly underrated as a main ingredient if you want to exclude meat from your meal, or even as a supplement. In this recipe, I decided to "beef up" the chicken patties with a bit of veg. Since eggplant is like a sponge, it soaks up all of the great chicken juices and keeps them in the burger instead of ending up in your pan. Being able to reduce a bit of meat in my diet without giving up anything on flavor seems to be a win-win. Plus, you can trick your kids into eating vegetables!

Process:

Start by dicing shallots and zebra-peeling your eggplant. The skin of an eggplant is bitter, but contains some nice nutrients, so you can settle for the best of both worlds by using 1/2 of the skin.

Dice your eggplant into small 1/8 inch cubes.

Add shallots with about 1T of olive oil to a pan on medium heat. Let them cook slowly until they are translucent  Then add the diced eggplant and let cook for about 8 minutes until it's softened and lightly browned. If you feel inspired, you can add numerous dried spices here such as oregano, parsley, and cilantro.  Add some diced garlic if desired and add a touch of salt.  Cook for 2 minutes more.

Let the eggplant cool off and start preparing your Greek yogurt sauce.

Dice onions, tomatoes, cilantro and feta cheese. Squeeze out the tomato water to make sure the sauce doesn't get runny. Mix with the yogurt.

Make sure your ground chicken is as cold as possible, and add in the cool eggplant mixture. Also, sprinkle a bit of salt, cumin, and cheyenne. Mix this together lightly and form into patties.

Add them to the pre-heated pan on medium-high heat. I chose to use a non-stick pan with some oil in there because I was afraid of the patties falling apart. They held together beautifully! Cook for about 6 mins per side and test the doneness by pushing on it with your finger.  It should feel firm and only slightly bounce back.

Toast buns or bread (I chose to use my Artisinal bread recipe baked with caramelized onions on top). Add the Greek sauce, then a splash of Sriracha (if you can handle it!), then the burger. I cut my burger in half to fit the bread. Enjoy!

Recipe:

1 diced medium onion or 2 large shallots diced

1 eggplant (zebra-peeled) in 1/8 inch dice

2 lbs / 1 kilo of ground chicken

1 T cumin (half for the Greek sauce and half for the burger mix)

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried parsley

1 tsp dried cilantro

1/2 cup unflavored yogurt

1/3 cup crumbled feta

1 small diced red tomato, squeezed to remove the water

1/8 cup diced cilantro

salt and pepper to taste

toasted buns or bread