Fakeaway Friday: Dished by Kate’s juicy Greek-style lamb burgers

These lamb burgers come together quickly, but work equally well for weekends too. Photo / Dished by Kate

In 2024, it seems almost impossible to save money, buy good food and treat yourself all at the same time. Enter Fakeaway Fridays, a Herald series where we create fake takeaway (fakeaway) meals that are not only delicious and nutritious, but budget friendly and serve 2-4 people.

So instead of dropping $50 for a takeaway meal this Friday night, why not try a fakeaway! It’s easier than you may think with our simple tips and tricks, and partially made products already hiding on your supermarket shelves.

Get ready for a very Mediterranean twist on burger night. Packed with gorgeous Greek flavours, you’re going to love these juicy lamb burgers. They’re a fab fakeaway for any night of the week because they come together quickly — and you can prep them ahead of time — but work equally well for weekends too.

Serve them up family style with the patties, buns and toppings all laid out for people to help themselves, or assemble the burgers and serve them — it’s up to you!

Juicy Greek-style lamb burgers

Ingredients

500g lamb mince — $9.40

1 white onion, very finely diced (or grated) — 20¢

2 tsp garlic paste — 9¢

1 tsp ground cumin — 23¢

1 tsp ground coriander — 30¢

1 tsp ground cinnamon — 31¢

Salt — 1¢

Handful of flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped — $1.33

50g feta, crumbled — $1.25

1 Tbsp olive oil — 18¢

4 burger buns — $2.48

¼ cup tzatziki — $1.22

100g spinach leaves — $1.33

½ cucumber, thinly sliced or shaved into strips — $3.49

¼ cup basil pesto — $1.36

Cost: $23.17 / $5.79 a portion

Method

Add the lamb mince, diced onion, crushed garlic, ground cumin, ground coriander, ground cinnamon, chopped flat-leaf parsley, crumbled feta and a pinch of salt to a large mixing bowl. Use a large wooden spoon or your hands to mix the ingredients through the lamb. Make sure everything is properly mixed through — you want every bit of lamb to be beautifully seasoned.

Prepare a large plate or wooden board to put your formed patties on. Wet your hands, then scoop up a couple of heaped tablespoons of the lamb mix and use your hands to form it into a chunky burger patty. Place on the prepared plate or board, then repeat with the rest of the mixture. You should get four large or six small patties from this mixture.

Slice your burger buns in half, then set yourself up with all your toppings so you’re ready to assemble once the lamb patties are cooked. You can give your burger buns a quick toast if you like — either in the toaster or under your grill on high for 2 minutes.

Drizzle the olive oil into a large pan and set it over high heat. Add the lamb burger patties, and cook for about 7 minutes on each side, until a lovely golden crust forms on both sides. Depending on the size of your pan, you may need to do this in batches. Remove from the pan and set aside.

You can serve the burgers family style, with the buns, patties and all the toppings laid out for everyone to help themselves to, or you can assemble them and serve them finished at the table. To assemble the burgers, spoon a little tzatziki on to the top and bottom of your buns, then pile on spinach leaves and the thinly sliced cucumber. Top with a lamb burger patty, dollop on some pesto, then place the top bun on top. If you’ve got skewers, I like to pop one skewer through the buns to help secure them, especially if you’re moving them to a table.