Lamb Burgers with Tzatziki and Pesto

This recipe for juicy, gently spiced Lamb Burgers with Tzatziki and homemade pesto are quick and easy enough to make on busy weeknights. Serve them by themselves for a quick meal, or with a fat handful of fancy salted crisps, potato wedges or some air fryer French Fries (yum!)

There is just something about a Greek-inspired Lamb Burger that just screams summer. And they're so simple to make, either at the last minute or simply when you've got a moment, ready for later. They're a great shout for a family dinner as they're something everyone will love, but work great for entertaining too.

So, what makes our lamb burgers special?

Well, first we've got juicy, spiced lamb with no extra fillers. Just tender meat and lots of flavour.

Next, we've got a creamy homemade tzatziki to cut through the richness of the lamb. It's a great sauce to have on hand for Greek-style wraps and sandwiches, or even to serve with flatbreads as a dip.

Then, not quite sticking with the Greek theme, we've added a slick of homemade basil pesto. We love it as it adds a little brightness and vibrancy with that extra layer of flavour.

Finally, onto toasted brioche buns we've got fat, juicy tomato slices, and cucumber ribbons: an easy, beautiful way of serving the flavour and crunch of cucumbers in your burgers without adding more water which will make your burger fall apart. Clever, right?

Seriously we think this is the perfect recipe for lamb burgers (with tzatziki!)

Ingredients

• lamb mince (don't go for lean mince as it's the fat in the burger that helps hold it together!)
• garlic
• ground cumin
• ground coriander
• paprika (sweet smoked is best here, but go for hot smoked it you want your burgers to have a bit of spice!)
• salt (something fine for seasoning)
• brioche burger buns (Marks & Spencer do our favourite supermarket version)
• Greek yogurt (full fat works best here as it is thicker: you don't want a runny tzatziki in your burger!)
• cucumber
• fresh mint (dill would make a good substitution)
• tomato
• pine nuts
• parmesan (pecorino or grana padano would make good substitutes)
• fresh basil
• olive oil (nothing too strong or grassy as it is being blitzed into a pesto)
• fresh lemon juice

Frequently Asked Questions

To Make The Burgers

Add the lamb mince to the bowl along with the minced garlic, spices, a dash of olive oil and a generous pinch of salt. Mix together with your hands, and shape into two burger patties. Hint: if you're not sure of the seasoning (not enough salt can make or break a lamb burger!) fry a little pinch of the seasoned mince off in a frying pan with a splash of oil. Then you can taste it and see if the burgers need more!

In a nonstick frying pan fry the burgers on each side until golden, then place in the oven for about 7 minutes until cooked through.

To Make The Tzatziki

Meanwhile, grate ½ the cucumber and place it on top of a clean towel. Use the towel to squeeze out any excess moisture before adding it to the yogurt along with some chopped mint and another good pinch of salt.

To Make The Pesto

Simply blitz all the pesto ingredients in a blender until smooth!

To Assemble The Burgers

Slice the tomato and use a peeler to create cucumber ribbons.

In a dry pan, lightly toast the brioche buns. Hint: if you're working in a small kitchen, you can do this in the same pan just before you cook the lamb burgers. Alternatively, you can toast the cut sides of the buns under the grill (but be careful to watch them as the sugar in the brioche means they can go from toasted to burnt in just moments!) or if you're not too fussy about presentation you can also pop them in the toaster on it's lowest setting.

Assemble the burgers with the tzatziki, pesto, a couple of slices of tomato, some cucumber ribbons and one of the patties.

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