Serve these delicious Greek lamb burgers on roasted butternut squash ‘buns’ with a generous spoonful of addictive green tahini dressing. Recipe sponsored by Tasty Easy Lamb.
I made it nearly to the end of the month without mentioning the dreaded ‘resolutions’ word! I think I should be given several medals for that alone. I am really terrible at making resolutions and even worse at keeping them. And the most popular resolution right now, I bet, is to ‘eat better’ or, more popular still, to ‘lose weight’.
Although I haven’t made any such promises, I definitely need to reign in the hedonistic ways of the past month. I think the holidays give me permission to indulge freely in rich food, desserts, cocktails and all the good things in life – and once you start it becomes awfully hard to stop!
But although I need to make some pretty big changes pronto, I have learned the hard way that embarking on a restrictive diet on January 1st has the terrible effects of making me cranky, ravenous AND even more likely to binge.
Choosing to eat delicious food made from scratch in moderation on the other hand works much better, especially when combined with exercise. These Greek lamb burgers are delicious, quick and very filling and, as a tiny concession to the lower carb drive, I am serving them on butternut squash ‘buns’.
The roasted squash slices work remarkably well in place of bread and also make not miss having fries on the side, so a big win as far as I am concerned! As for the green tahini dressing… I could eat that with a spoon, spread it on a cracker and add it to any number of dishes.
Choose a good quality lean lamb mince and ideally mix your burger ingredients in advance to allow the flavours to develop. It also helps if the burgers are shaped and chilled before cooking – they are likely to keep their shape a lot better.
Another little gadget that I love when making burgers is a burger press – cheap as chips to purchase, but really great for shaping the patties into a uniform size and thickness. Choosing really good quality lean lamb mince is another key to success in this recipe – the burgers were so full of flavour but not at all greasy or heavy.
Made one of my recipes? I wanna see! Tag me on Instagram and make my day 🙂
Greek lamb burgers with tahini dressing on squash 'buns'
Ingredients
- For the burgers
- 500 g | 1lb 2oz lean minced lamb
- 2 slices wholemeal bread soaked in 2-3 tbsp skimmed milk
- 1 red onion roughly chopped
- 2 garlic cloves
- 60 g | 2oz | 2 tbsp crumbled feta cheese
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1/4 tsp allspice
- 2 tbsp fresh coriander cilantro
- 1 tbsp fresh mint
- 1 tsp salt
- 1-2 tbsp light olive oil for frying
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- For the squash buns
- 1 large butternut squash unpeeled
- a little olive oil
- salt and pepper to season
- pinch Italian seasoning
- <br>
- Green tahini dressing
- 3 heaping tbsp tahini
- 2 tbsp flat leaf parsley
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp warm water or more, as needed
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp low-fat Greek yoghurt
- 1 garlic clove
- salt and pepper to season
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- Serve with
- tomato slices
- watercress or lettuce leaves
- red onion rings
Instructions
- Put the the onion, garlic, herbs, spices and salt in your food processor or mini chopper and pulse until minced.
- Squeeze the bread to get rid of most of the milk and add to the food processor together with the feta. Pulse until a paste forms.
- Put the mince into a bowl and add the onion mixture. Mix thoroughly with your hands until the ingredients are well incorporated.
- Form into six burgers, using a burger press if possible.
- Place on a platter, cover with cling film and chill for half an hour if you have time otherwise use immediately.
- Preheat the oven to 200C (400F). Line a large tray with baking paper and drizzle with a little olive oil.
- Slice the squash into 12 slices of equal thickness (1.5 cm/ 3/4 inch). Reserve any leftover squash to use in soups.
- Spread the slices on the tray and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with a little Italian seasoning and drizzle with a little olive oil.
- Roast for 20 minutes or until tender. Set aside.
- Make the tahini dressing - put all the ingredients into a mini chopper or blender and process together. If the dressing is too thick, add a little warm water until you have the desired consistency. Taste and add salt and pepper to taste.
- Meanwhile heat a little oil in a non-stick frying pan. Fry the burgers for 4 minutes per side over medium heat until cooked through.
- Place the burgers on the squash buns, with some of the tahini dressing, sliced tomatoes and a little watercress. Top with a second squash slice and serve.
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