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Mediterranean flavors in a burger, while timely for springtime themes, are good all year round; from Dave Utrata.

I was never exposed to the joys of grilling various meats when I was growing up; it was always the basic, overdone beef burger.  Happily, some things change for the better with age.  This recipe is about going beyond those basic burgers.  Not just making them prettier with flashy toppings, but actually using a different meat, in this case lamb, and blending in other flavors that go great together.  This has become a favorite request when my sons visit.

Lamb Burgers with
Feta and Spinach

Ingredients:

• 1 lb.
  ground lamb


• ½ - 1
  cup crumbled feta cheese


• ½ - 1
  cup finely chopped fresh spinach


• 5
  cloves of garlic, chopped


• 2
  small onions (such as boiler) chopped


• salt
  & pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl.  Using a spatula is said to minimize “mashing”
   the soft lamb, and from a practical viewpoint, it also makes mixing
   easier. 
   


2. Since you will be shaping this
   mixture into burgers for the grill, you may wish to keep the amount of feta and
   spinach added to the lamb to the lower amounts. 
   This will make the burgers easier to form and retain their shape, if
   that’s critical to your style.  (My sons
   and I, as well as guests I’ve served them to, prefer the taste of the higher
   amounts of the cheese and greens.)


3. On a heated and oiled grill, cook the burgers.  Again, personal preferences can create
   variation, but I prefer these when the burger middles are pink and juicy.  As opposed to, say, 4-5 minutes per side, I
   will usually grill them for 2 minutes per side, repeating at least once.  This will also depend on burger size; this
   amount yielded four big burgers for me and the younger son (hungry teenager) this past Easter.


4. Serve on hearty buns, such as big toasted garlic rolls.  


5. The only condiments you will likely need are
   salt and pepper, but definitely squeeze the juice from a lemon wedge on
   them.  

Oh my, these are good!