Appetizers & Snacks/ Mains/ Recipes

L is for: Lamb Sliders Stuffed with Feta

After re-creating one of my favorite Scottsdale dishes yesterday, I was inspired to reprise another meal from that trip. If you read all the way to the bottom of my post from Spring Training, you saw a collage from our “wrap party” on our last night in Arizona. That evening, I made lamb sliders stuffed with feta cheese. I thought they turned out really good, so I decided to make them again for “L” week!

These are similar to my Inside Out Bacon Cheeseburgers in that you put the cheese in the middle of the patty. I really love this concept because the cheese gets warm and melty while the meat cooks, giving you a creamy surprise when you bite into one.

And as you might have noticed by now, I love all things mini, so I decided to make sliders instead of full-sized burgers. (But they would work either way)

I don’t recall exactly how I made them the first time, but I remembered I had mixed in mint with the ground lamb. Well, wouldn’t you know it, my neighborhood grocery store was out of mint!! So I used baby dill instead. Really, you could use any fresh herb that goes well with lamb like oregano or rosemary too. I loved the mint, but I actually enjoyed the dill just as much. I also bought a good-quality sheep’s milk feta from the nice cheese section of the store instead of those commercial pre-crumbled ones.

I mixed a little garlic, shallots and dill in with seasoned ground lamb. (Just take care not to overmix!) Divide the mixture evenly into slider-sized patties (a pound should make around 6-8 slider patties). I piled some feta in the middle and sort of poked it down in the patty. Then take one in your hand and curl the edges up over the feta. Seal everything together and flatten out again. Refrigerate until you are ready to cook them.

You could definitely grill these, but I just made them in the skillet. I heated a little oil over medium heat and cooked them for about 4 minutes per side for medium. The key is you want to cook them slow enough so the feta heats up and starts to melt inside the burger.

The first time I made these, I did a cucumber yogurt sauce. I didn’t have any cucumber this time, so I just made it with a little green onion, dill and lemon juice. Both versions were tasty and the tanginess goes great with the rich and buttery lamb.

Toast your slider buns and top with a patty and a little yogurt sauce. You could garnish with cucumber slices, radishes or red onions or just eat them plain with the yogurt sauce. Enjoy!

Lamb Sliders Stuffed with Feta

by Jaymee Sire

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Keywords: appetizer sliders lamb feta

Ingredients (6-8 sliders)

For Sliders

1 pound ground lamb
salt & pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon finely chopped shallots
2-3 teaspoons finely chopped fresh herbs (such as mint or dill)
1 garlic clove, minced
crumbled sheep’s milk feta cheese
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
slider buns & additional burger toppings

For yogurt sauce

1 cup fat free Greek yogurt
1/2 green onion, finely minced
1 teaspoon finely chopped dill
juice from 1/2 lemon
salt, to taste

Instructions

1. Season lamb with salt and pepper. Using your hands, combine lamb, shallots, fresh herbs and garlic, taking care not to overmix. Divide mixture evenly into patties that are slightly bigger than the buns you are using.

2. Pile some feta in the middle of each patty press it into the meat. Then take one in your hand and curl the edges up over the feta. Seal everything together and flatten out again. Refrigerate until you are ready to cook them.

3. If cooking on the stove, heat a little oil over medium heat and cook until they reach desired level of doneness. (I did about 3-4 minutes per side for medium). The key is you want to cook them slow enough so the feta heats up and starts to melt inside the burger.

4. To make yogurt sauce, combine yogurt, lemon juice, green onion, dill and salt. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

5. Toast slider buns and top with a patty and a little yogurt sauce and any additional garnishes. Enjoy!