gyro burgers

this recipe has been rolling around in my head for a while. i love lamb (as evidenced by this post) and in particular gyros. the wonderful earthiness of the lamb paired with the cool and refreshing tsatziki cucumber sauce is out of this world. i wasn't feeling up to creating a traditional lamb roast to carve properly, so i decided on these cute little burgers. this is a relatively quick dish, and very filling.

ingredients:

for burgers:
1 pound ground lamb
1 small onion or 1/2 of a large onion, grated
1 egg
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped or mashed into a puree with salt and the back of your knife
approximately 1 cup of panko breadcrumbs

for tsatziki sauce:
1 cup of plain whole fat yogurt*
1 english cucumber, seeds removed, chopped into 1/4" dice
1 to 2 tablespoons of lemon juice
1 teaspoon of dill (or the herb of your choosing, i went with thyme because i had it on hand)
salt and pepper

for serving:
naan, feta cheese, and lettuce

directions:
heat a large non-stick pan over medium high heat.
in a large bowl combine the lamb, egg, onion (and as much of it's juices as you can get in), the garlic, salt (if you didn't mash your garlic with it), and pepper to taste. combine loosely with your fingers, being sure not to overwork the meat. form into small patties, approximately 16, and set aside to come to room temperature.
to make the tsatziki sauce, combine the yogurt, cucumber, lemon juice, herbs, and salt and pepper to taste and set aside.
grill the patties for about 2 minutes on the first side, and then flip. cook for an additional minute and them remove and set aside.
assemble the gyro burgers on the naan with a heaping serving of the tsatziki sauce, lettuce, and feta cheese. enjoy!

notes:
this tastes so traditional, but is pretty easy. you could serve this in pita, but the naan is lighter, thicker, and fluffy. if you can't get your hands on lamb, turkey would be a good replacement...but lamb really is the best meat in the world.

* you could also use low fat yogurt that has been placed in a bowl over a strainer lined with cheesecloth or paper towels for about a half hour to remove most of the liquid.