Lamb Burgers with Crispy Chickpeas and Tzatziki

My apologies for the lack of posts recently. I made this dinner about a week ago and started writing the post that night, but then got distracted (probably by playing dress up, which, yes, I still do) and just found it today. Dumb.

I stole the inspiration for this dinner from Mark Bittman's recipe for Fried Chickpeas with Chorizo and Spinach. I had a ton of rosemary from my darling friend who worked on an organic farm in California and literally smuggled it East for me, and I had some cucumbers and mint lying around, so I decided to do a more Greek-feeling dinner and make Lamb Burgers, Crispy Chickpeas, and Tzatziki.

I used a Tzatziki recipe from Kalyn's Kitchen, and switched out the dill for mint, to use up my leftovers before I left for Spring Break (body shots!) to drive all the way up to Maine (beah!) to visit some of my parents (wholesome!). It was delicious, and I spent the rest of the week eating it straight from the Tupperware with a spoon. I'm not going to retype the tzatziki recipe because, welp, I'm lazy, but you can check it out above if you're looking for a good one.

Lamb Burgers with Crispy Chickpeas and Tzatziki

• 1-1.5 lbs. ground lamb
• 3/4 cup chopped cherry tomatoes
• 3/4 cup chopped baby bella mushrooms
• 1/4 cup fresh breadcrumbs
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp. chopped rosemary
• 1 can chickpeas, drained and patted dry
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic
• Salt and pepper to taste
  

1. This is the yogurt draining process, which is necessary if you're not using Greek yogurt (which I wasn't). It's cool and a little creepy to see how much liquid you get even after 45 minutes.



2. This is the cucumber draining process, which is necessary because cucumbers hold so much water. Cover them in salt, let them sit for a long time, and be amazed by the amount of water they release.


3. Sauté the chopped mushrooms in a bit of olive oil with salt and pepper for about ten minutes until they turn golden brown and give up their liquid.




4. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Mix the tomatoes, mushrooms, rosemary, egg, breadcrumbs and lamb together in a medium-sized bowl.




5. This mixture should yield about three burgers. Be sure to make them as equal in size as possible, so that they cook consistently. Bake them for between 15 and 20 minutes, until the center is light pink.


6. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook until it begins to turn brown, then add the chickpeas, salt, and pepper, and cook, stirring only once or twice, until they turn golden brown (about 10 minutes).

7. Sorry I don't have a more appetizing picture of the finished meal. It was fantastic, if I do say so myself, and yes, I did add several more spoonfuls of tzatziki to the burger and the chickpeas after I took this picture.


This was one of the most grownup meals I've made to date, by which I mean it consisted of more than one dish. It isn't terribly exciting, aesthetically, but it made my tastebuds happy.