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

Greek Salad [Rhonda]

Degree of difficulty: easy
Time: 5 minutes
Serves: 10 or more

I make a big bottle of this Greek stuff and keep it in the fridge for a switch-up from the other dressing I love ("That Famous Salad Dressing," posted earlier on this blog).

Greek salad typically involves chopped iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, pepperoncini, black olives, and feta of some sort (they even have Mediterranean crumbles now).

Greek Salad Dressing
Ingredients:
1 cup red wine vinegar
1 to 1 1/4 cups olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
Lots of dried oregano (to taste, I mean)
Pinch of sugar (optional)
Grated romano cheese (or parmesan if you don't have romano)
Salt and pepper to taste



In a mixing bowl, add the minced garlic to the vinegar. Stir in oregano. Slowly whisk in the olive oil.



Keep whisking and add the grated romano, some salt and pepper, sugar if you want, and taste it. Adjust your seasonings.

Suggested soundtrack: Neyo's "Give Me Everything Tonight"

Avgolemono Soup [Rhonda]

Degree of difficulty: very easy...this is the cheater's version. Apologies to Mike's dad

Time: 17 minutes

Serves: 4

Long day? Exhausted? Open a big can of chicken stock and get it on the stove. While it's coming to a boil, go change into your sweats.

Better already, right? Now dump the rice into the stock, and while it's cooking, prep the lemon and egg. Throw some salad into a bowl and make a big Greek salad--recipe for it is posted on the blog. Heat up some crusty bread if you have it, and dinner's ready, comfort food that's nourishing and a smooth ending to a rough day.

Although I never had Mike's dad's version, I'm sure it was wonderful with him coming from Cyprus, made the long way with a whole chicken and carrots, celery and onion flavoring the broth. Avgolemono is a staple on Greek menus, also served, minus the chicken stock and with a little cornstarch, as a sauce for fish.

Avgolemono Soup
Ingredients:
1 large can chicken broth (49 1/2 ounces)
1 or 2 eggs
2 lemons
1 cup of white rice
Salt and pepper to taste



Heat the chicken broth to a boil, add rice. Cook for approximately 17 minutes, or until rice is done. While that's cooking, beat the egg(s) in a small mixing bowl, add in the juice of 1 1/2 lemons (then you can add the rest after you taste the finished product if you want).

When rice is done, take a ladle of the hot soup and whisk into the egg mixture. Add a second ladle of soup, whisking constantly. Tempering the egg keeps it from scrambling once you add it over into the pot of soup. OK. Now add it in, stir.

Suggested soundtrack: Franz Schubert's "Four Impromptus, No. 3"

Saganaki [Mike]

I was on vacation on the Greek island of Mykonos with my two friends, Richie and Sam, the first time I saw it.

Waiters carrying flaming dishes.

As they placed the dishes on the table they would say, “Opa!” A big wedding party reception was being held at the restaurant, which had an incredible view overlooking the Mediterranean. I called the waiter over and asked him what the dish was. “Saganaki, a Greek cheese!” (Crashing noises.) We were distracted by people throwing plates into a fireplace. “What’s with that?” I asked the waiter.
He said it was a Greek wedding tradition. So of course we couldn’t break the tradition… we threw some plates too.

Saganaki flaming cheese:
One pound of Kefalotyri cheese
Couple of tablespoons of olive oil
Lemons
2 ounces of brandy
½ cup of flour




Pre-heat a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat.
Place 1/2 inch sliced cheese under running tap water then dredge through flour.




Add olive oil to skillet, then the sliced cheese and sear on both sides.







Shut off stove and pour the brandy over the cheese.




Light with a match or lighter, as it flames yell “OPA!” Squeeze wedge of lemon on cheese and serve. (If you really want to be all Greek use Metaxas Brandy.)

Lamb Carnitas Greek Style [Zack]

One of my favorite things to do is cruise the internet looking for interesting recipe ideas.  One of my favorite people to read is Kenji Lopez-Alt because he approaches cooking very scientifically.  This recipe took the traditional way of making Carnitas and gives a practical approach for the home cook.  I adapted his recipe for Pork Carnitas by using lamb and taking it in my own direction.

This dish is a great heavy appetizer at a dinner party or goes great with a fresh Greek Salad.  It's great to prepare the day before a party since all you have to do is heat and assemble it.  Plus the flavors get to know each other better ;)

Process:


Find a nice large lamb shoulder (preferably de-boned, but if not, you can easily figure out where it is and where to cut by feeling around) and dice it into 1 inch cubes.

Start a large frying pan on medium heat and let it get hot for 10 minutes while you continue to dice.  Once the pan is properly heated, add 3 T of olive oil and then brown the meat.  Do this in batches!  Don't over-crowd the pan - there should be even spacing between the chunks of lamb or else you will just steam it :(

Transfer the browned lamb to your cooking vessel (I used a large casserole dish) and then pour the excess oil and juices into the same dish if you are worried about it browning too much on the bottom of the pan.  Finish carmelizing the outside of the lamb with the remaning batches and adding it to the casserole dish.

Add the dried peppers, sliced onions, and oil to cover the lamb pieces.

Add in the powdered spices, juice from the orange, and cumin seeds (toast in the leftover oil in the pan if you are feeling fancy.) 

Give everything a good mix, and transfer it to your pre-heated oven at 275 F / 135 C and let it slowly cook for 3-4 hours.  During cooking, the onions will slowly and deeply carmelize, the peppers will rehydrate and release their heat, and the spices will give the lamb nice zing.

Check the lamb after 3 hours by seeing if it will easily pull apart with a knife or 2 forks.  If not, put it back in the oven for another 30 minutes and check again. 

If you cooking in advance, you can place the tray covered in the fridge for at least a week.  When you are ready to serve, take the lamb and pour it into a mesh strainer set up over a bowl to let the juices and oil drain.  Shred the lamb with 2 forks and add back a few T of the oil/juice mixture to moisten.  Place under a broiler and stir every few minutes to make sure it crisps and browns evenly.

Save the oil for round 2 in a jar in your freezer.  This recipe is one of my favorites and I'm sure you will want a second batch within a few weeks....

Greek Yogurt Sauce:
Combine the yogurt, diced feta, diced cilantro, the lemon juice and salt & pepper to taste. 

To Assemble:
Toast the sliced bread (make your own!) with some olive oil or garlic butter.  Top with the browned pulled lamb, then the Greek Yogurt Sauce, then the minced shallots.  Enjoy!

Recipe:
Pulled Lamb:
1 lamb shoulder cut into 1 inch cubes (4-6 lbs or 2kg)
3-4 cups of olive oil (depending on the size of your cooking vessel)
1 large onion, sliced into moons
2 T cumin seeds (or 1.5 T of cumin powder)
5-10 dried chile peppers
1 T of salt (can add more at the end)
2 T corriander powder
Juice of one orange

Greek Yogurt sauce:
1 cup greek or natural unflavored yogurt (no sugar!)
1/3 cup diced feta cheese
1 bunch diced cilantro
juice of 1/2 of a lemon
salt and pepper to taste

Diced shallots
toasted, sliced bread