Grill marks on a health-conscious entree in wintertime mean a win-win for lunch or dinner. This dish is especially suited for a night when team practice or extended office hours create the multiple-mealtime effect at home; the lamb-turkey patties reheat easily in the microwave or in a partially covered skillet. Diners can assemble their own sandwiches when and as they see fit.
Serve with a cucumber salad.
Servings: 4 - 6
- For the burgers
- Six 4- or 5-inch-wide pitas
- 1/4 medium onion
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
- 12 ounces lean ground lamb
- 12 ounces lean ground turkey breast
- 12 small lettuce, arugula or radicchio leaves
- For the sauce
- 2 juicy lemon wedges
- 1/4 cup low-fat mayonnaise (do not use nonfat)
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
For the burgers: Grease a large grill pan with nonstick cooking oil spray; heat the pan over medium-high heat.
While it's heating up, cut the pitas in half, to form a total of 12 pockets. Make two stacks of six, wrapping each stack in foil. Place the packages in the grill pan to warm while you prep the burger mixture.
Dice the onion to yield 1/4 cup, placing it in a mixing bowl. Add the tomato paste, salt, cinnamon, ginger, ground lamb and ground turkey, using your clean hands to blend and shape the mixture into 12 equal portions. Flatten each one into an oval patty that's slightly less than 1/2 inch thick.
Arrange the meat in the grill pan. Cook for 5 minutes, until the undersides are browned and release fairly easily, then turn the burgers over and cook on the second side for 3 to 5 minutes, until they are browned and cooked through.
While the burgers are cooking, make the sauce: Squeeze the lemon wedges into a medium bowl to yield 2 teaspoons of juice. Whisk in the mayonnaise, cumin and pepper to form a sauce. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
Place a leaf, a burger and about 1 1/2 teaspoons of the sauce inside each warm pita half. Serve right away.
Adapted from "Cooking Light Crave! Stacked, Stuffed, Cheesy, Crunchy and Chocolaty Comfort Foods" (Oxmoor House, 2013).
Tested by Bonnie S. Benwick.
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