It’s time for Friday Night Bites and tonight we’re going GREEK, with delicious lamb burgers from Cooking Light and a terrific Tzatziki Sauce from Elizabeth.
Lamb is a lighter and leaner alternative to beef for burgers and will surprise your guests. The Tzatziki sauce is the perfect condiment for burgers, you can try it as a substitute for the blue cheese below. We love it on baked potatoes too and it easily doubles as a dip or dressing for veggies and/or pita chips. If you haven’t had it before, you must try it – simply put, Tzatziki tickles our tastebuds and it’s a healthy alternative to higher calorie condiments and dips! It’s is a great recipe to serve at a party as those who have tried it before LOVE it, for those who haven’t had the pleasure, you will have introduced them to something new.
*If you decide to substitute the blue cheese with tzatziki – we recommend swapping the arugula for thin slices of cucumber.
Tzatziki Sauce
Ingredients
(makes ½ cup – double recipe to increase yield)
- 1 8 oz. container all natural nonfat strained greek yogurt
- 1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped
- 1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
- 2 tsp. fresh dill, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves finely diced
- Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
Put all ingredients in food processor and process until thoroughly combined and smooth. Line a sieve with a paper towel and pour sauce into it letting it drain for 30 minutes. Spoon sauce (it will be a bit thicker now) into an airtight container and refrigerate until ready to serve. Note: pour any excess liquid off before serving.
Mini Lamb Burgers with Blue Cheese
This recipe comes from from Cooking Light Way To Cook: Grilling. This book is fabulous for summer entertaining and has unique, easy to grill, light recipes. Its great when you’re the host, but also makes a great hostess gift when you’re the guest! Cooking Light Way To Cook: Grilling . . .
- Includes techniques on the basics of grilling, setup and food prep; learn to smoke, marinate, brine and more
- Master the art of grilling steaks, burgers, chicken, fish, fruits, vegetables and more
- More than 125 recipes accompanied by full-color how-to photos
Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 1 slider)
Ingredients
- 11?4 teaspoons olive oil
- 12?3 cups thinly sliced onion (about 1 large)
- 3?4 teaspoon brown sugar
- 3?8 teaspoon salt, divided
- 1?4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 13 ounces lean ground lamb
- Cooking spray
- 8 (1.3-ounce) mini sandwich buns, toasted
- 1 cup arugula leaves
- 2 tablespoons crumbled blue cheese
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and sugar to pan; cook 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in 1?8 teaspoon salt. Reduce heat; cook 8 minutes or until tender and browned, stirring occasionally. Keep warm.
- Preheat grill to high heat.
- Combine remaining 1?4 teaspoon salt, pepper, and lamb in a large bowl. Divide lamb mixture into 8 equal portions, shaping each into a 1?2-inch-thick patty. Press a nickel-sized indentation in the center of each patty. Place patties on grill rack coated with cooking spray. Grill 3 minutes on each side.
- Place arugula evenly on bottom halves of buns; top with 1 patty, 11?2 tablespoons caramelized onion, and about 3?4 teaspoon blue cheese. Cover with top halves of buns.
CALORIES 226; FAT 10.4g (sat 3.8g, mono 4.8g, poly 1g); PROTEIN 11.8g; CARB 21.2g; FIBER 1.6g; CHOL 33mg; IRON 1.8mg; SODIUM 347mg; CALC 68mg
Enjoy and cheers to the weekend! Friday Night Bites is a weekly food series from the Partybluprints Blog.
